Supreme Court Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi submitted his resignation on Wednesday amidst an ongoing investigation by the Supreme Judicial Council into allegations of misconduct, specifically concerning the accumulation of wealth beyond his known resources.
In his resignation letter addressed to President Arif Alvi, Naqvi cited the impossibility of continuing his roles at both the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court.
Naqvi's resignation closely follows a significant event: the Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Faez Isa, upheld the death sentence of the late Pervez Musharraf, issued by a special court in December 2019 under Article 6 of the Constitution. This decision was subsequently challenged in January 2020 by a Lahore High Court bench led by Naqvi, which nullified the special court's verdict and deemed its establishment "unconstitutional."
Criticism emerged regarding the Lahore High Court's ruling, given that the special court had been formed by the Supreme Court itself. The latest verdict from the Supreme Court reaffirmed the special court's standing and its earlier judgment.
A day prior, the Supreme Court dismissed a request to halt the Supreme Judicial Council's proceedings, posing a significant setback for Naqvi, who has been contesting the grounds behind the reference against him.
