Justice Jahangiri moves FCC against IHC order in fake degree case

• Petitioner maintains petition against his degree not admissible.
• Justice Jahangiri was earlier barred by IHC from judicial duties.
• IHC's barring order was suspended SC's Constitutional Bench.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Tariq Jahangiri has approached the Federal Constitutional Court, challenging an order of the IHC that declared a petition — seeking verification of his academic degree — maintainable.

The case concerns a controversy regarding Justice Jahangiri's LLB degree, which was cancelled by the University of Karachi.

A division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, declared the petition filed by Advocate Mian Dawood maintainable on December 9 and issued notice to Justice Jahangiri and along with other respondents.

In his plea to the FCC, Justice Jahangiri maintained that the petition filed in the IHC is not admissible, requesting the court to dismiss the petition.

Advocate Dawood had filed the petition in the IHC and challenged Justice Jahangiri's appointment as a high court judge, citing his "fake degree."

Separately, Justice Jahangiri has filed three pleas in the IHC in connection with the ongoing degree controversy.

Filed through senior lawyer Akram Sheikh and Barrister Salahuddin, Justice Jahangiri, in his pleas, sought the formation of a full court to hear the case, with the request that the full court should not include Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and other transferred judges.

In a separate plea, he asked the court to adjourn the proceedings until a final decision is reached in the related case pending before the Sindh High Court.

Justice Jahangiri also sought more time to submit his reply in the case.

Fake degree controversy

The issue revolves around a dispute concerning Justice Jahangiri's LLB degree, which was revoked by the University of Karachi. According to the university’s notification, the university syndicate, in its meeting on August 31, 2024, approved "Resolution No 06" in compliance with the competent authority’s decision, upholding the recommendation of the Unfair Means Committee (UFM).

The notification stated, "Justice Jahangiri was found guilty of using unfair means and has been barred for three years from admission to any university or college, as well as from appearing in any university examination."

Furthermore, the University of Karachi clarified that Justice Jahangiri had never been enrolled as a student at Islamia Law College, Karachi, in 1989.

The fake degree controversy escalated when the IHC bench barred Justice Jahangiri from performing his judicial duties on September 16.

The IHC bench led by Chief Justice (CJ) Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and comprising Justice Mohammad Azam Khan had passed the directives on a petition filed by one Mian Dawood.

On September 20, Justice Jahangiri and four other judges of the IHC separately approached the apex court against the IHC order that had restrained him from performing judicial work.

The other four judges of the IHC included Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Saman Rifat, and Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan.

On September 29, the apex court's five-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, suspended the IHC order that had barred Justice Jahangiri from judicial work.