Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, examined 24 complaints filed under Article 209 of the Constitution.19 complaints were dismissed unanimously, while five were deferred for future consideration.
The council convened in Islamabad on Saturday to discuss several agenda items, including proposed administrative reforms and judicial complaints, according to an official release.
The council also approved the draft of the Supreme Judicial Council Secretariat Service Rules, 2025. However, further deliberation was recommended on proposed procedures for inquiries and amendments to the judicial Code of Conduct, which members said required legal and drafting review.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah joined the meeting via video link, while Justices Munib Akhtar, Aalia Neelum (Chief Justice of Lahore High Court), and Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar (Chief Justice of Sindh High Court) were in attendance.
Earlier, the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) decided to protect judicial officers from external influence and asked the high courts to establish structured mechanisms for reporting and redressing such instances within a stipulated timeframe.
A statutory body responsible for formulating and implementing judicial policy, the NJPMC held its 53rd meeting on Friday at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
According to a statement issued after the meeting, the NJPMC also took serious notice of enforced disappearances in the country. The committee unanimously resolved that the judiciary would not compromise on its constitutional duty to safeguard fundamental rights.
In this regard, it formed a dedicated committee to formulate an institutional response, after taking into consideration concerns of the executive, to be communicated through the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP).
The committee deliberated on key policy issues and adopted several significant measures to improve judicial performance, technology integration in judicial processes and citizen-centric justice delivery.
To improve the commercial dispute resolution landscape, the NJPMC approved the establishment of Commercial Litigation Corridor, with specialised courts and benches.Earlier this week, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi called the SJC meeting to consider around two dozen pending complaints against superior court judges and a set of recommendations to streamline the process of handling complaints and to ensure transparency while probing allegations of misconduct against judges.
According to a press release dated today, the council examined 24 complaints under Article 209 of the Constitution. It said, “19 complaints were unanimously decided to be filed while five others were deferred for the time being.”
The meeting was chaired by CJP Afridi and attended by senior puisine judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar.
The press release also said, “The proposed draft of SJC Secretariat Service Rules, 2025 was approved by the council,” adding that the Procedure of Enquiry, 2005 and amendments in the Code of Conduct “needed to be examined from legal and drafting point of view” which required further deliberation.
The SJC had appointed Justice Akhtar as head of a committee to propose amendments to the code of conduct.
In February, the SJC examined as many as 46 complaints against constitutional office-holders, disposed of 40 of them, sought comments on five complaints and asked for further information in one case.
