ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has endorsed Karachi University’s (KU) findings that the LLB degree of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri was obtained through unfair means, according to a detailed report submitted to the IHC.
The HEC clarified that it had never verified Justice Jahangiri’s degree, nor had the judge approached the commission for any such verification. The report was filed in compliance with directions issued by a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Mohammad Azam Khan, who sought the complete academic record of the judge in connection with a petition questioning his eligibility to hold judicial office.
The petitioner requested the bench to summon the original academic record directly from Karachi University. KU had earlier cancelled the LLB degree in question, though its decision was later suspended by the Sindh High Court.
Furthermore, Chief Justice Dogar stated that the allegation was serious and required a careful review of documentary evidence.
He added that since the HEC is the regulatory body overseeing higher education institutions in Pakistan, its findings would be examined first before considering issuance of a notice to KU.
The HEC’s report enclosed KU’s inquiry findings, which mentioned several discrepancies. The candidate named “Tariq Mehmood” obtained an LLB degree in 1991 under enrolment number 5968.
However, records indicated that the same number had been assigned to another student, Imtiaz Ahmed, in 1987. Additionally, the transcript for LLB Part-I was issued under the name “Tariq Jahangiri,” creating further inconsistencies.
Moreover, the inquiry also noted that the judge had been enrolled for LLB Part-I under a second enrolment number, 7124, which violated university rules allowing only one enrolment number per student throughout a degree programme.
The committee did not declare the degree “bogus,” it concluded that the academic credentials were invalid due to conflicting identities and multiple enrolments.
Meanwhile. KU alleged that the judge appeared in examinations using false identities and colluded with university staff.
It further claimed that he impersonated other students of Islamia College, including Mohammad Naeemuddin and Imtiaz Ahmed. The university subsequently cancelled the results and imposed a three-year ban, permitting the candidate to reappear in 1992.
The case has moved through a complex legal path since September 16, when the IHC bench initially took up the petition and issued an interim order restraining Justice Jahangiri from performing judicial duties. The order, issued without prior notice to the judge, prompted debate among legal experts over a high court’s authority to suspend a sitting judge. On September 29, the Supreme Court set aside the order.
However, a five-member bench led by Justice Aminuddin Khan ruled that a high court could not bar a judge from judicial work while hearing a quo warranto petition.
The Court emphasised that its ruling addressed only the legality of the interim order, not the underlying allegations, and directed the IHC to proceed according to law.
