Syed Sajjad Ali Shah

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Syed Sajjad Ali Shah bigraphy, stories - Pakistani judge

Syed Sajjad Ali Shah : biography

February 17, 1933 –

Syed Sajjad Ali Shah (Urdu:) was the Chief Justice of Pakistan from 4th June 1994 to 2nd December 1997.

Other services

  • Former Chairman of Iran-Pakistan Friendship Association

Chief Justice of Supreme Court

When Dr. Nasim Hasan Shah retired as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1994, Justice Saad Saud Jan should have taken his place based on seniority. But Ms Benazir Bhutto threw tradition overboard, when she by-passed two senior judges and appointed Sajjad Ali Shah as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Later, she was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari on charges of corruption and Sajjad Ali Shah along with 6 other members of the Supreme Court upheld this decision. Reading from a 12-page short order, Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said

The presidential order contained enough substance and adequate material had been provided to conclude that the government could not be run in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and that an appeal to the electorate had become necessary.

Government-judiciary row and intra-judiciary scuffle

Nawaz Sharif and Shah tussle

Sajjad Ali Shah was the lone dissenter in the 11-member bench, whose decision restored Nawaz Sharif to power in May 1993 after he had been booted out by the then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Shah also ordered the release of some civil servants, who had been arrested on the orders of Sharif. These events became the starting point of a long tussle between the two men. The first confrontation by Sharif was the establishment of special Courts, which were established in contravention of the Chief Justice’s judicious advice. These special courts, which were established to benefit the allies and supporters of the Prime Minister, eventually proved to be a humiliating blot on the face of justice in Pakistan. Later, when the Chief Justice wanted to fill five vacant judicial positions for carrying out the business of dispensing justice in a speedy manner, the Prime Minister not only refused to grant the request but went ahead and abolished those vacancies altogether. He had to restore the positions under pressure but refused to fill them up.

Judges vs. judges

In his self-imposed war against the Chief Justice, Nawaz Sharif succeeded in dividing the judges into two camps. The infamous Article 58(2)(b) a.k.a. Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was restored and suspended within minutes by two separate benches of the apex court assembled against each other. A 3 member bench headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah suspended the operation of the Thirteenth Amendment restoring the powers of the president to dissolve the National Assembly, a verdict which was within minutes set aside by another 10-member bench.The 10-member bench headed by Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui granted stay against the chief justice’s order minutes after it was passed, without receiving any formal petition, a formal complaint was issued by an advocate on which the notice was taken and the decision of the Chief Justice was set aside. All efforts to resolve the judicial crisis failed as both the judges’ groups stuck to their stance and issued separate cause lists.The dissident judges, who did not acknowledge Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as chief justice, issued a fresh cause list for 15 members’ full court session. The full court, headed by Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, took up petitions questioning the validity of chief justice’s appointment.

Case at Peshawar Bench of the Supreme Court

A Supreme Court bench took up the case of controversy of the appointment of Sajjad Ali Shah as Chief Justice. Two Judges of Supreme Court namely, Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui and Fazal-e-Ilahi Khan passed an interim order against the Chief Justice from performing the function of Chief Justice of Pakistan, due to his political appointment, during Benazir Bhutto’s tenure. This Bench also wrote a letter to Army and other administrative authorities to execute the order of Supreme Court.