Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi resigned on Wednesday from the Supreme Court (SC) saying it was no longer possible for him to continue due to circumstances which were a matter of public knowledge.
The development comes a day after the apex court turned down Justice Naqvi’s request to grant a stay against the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which had issued show notice to the judge for amassing illegitimate assets and misconduct.
“It was an honour to be appointed and to serve as a judge first of the Lahore High Court and then as the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In the circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, it is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” Justice Naqvi said in his resignation letter sent to the President of Pakistan.
The letter was written with a wrong date which Justice Naqvi clarified in a statement later.
Last month, in an open letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and all SC judges, Justice Naqvi decried that the treatment meted out to him by the SJC was “nothing short of disgraceful”.
The SJC in October had issued a show cause notice to Justice Naqvi amid complaints alleging bench manipulation and financial misconduct by the SC judge.