Karachi, October 3, 2025: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday suspended the University of Karachi’s notification that had cancelled the law degree of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri.
An SHC bench comprising Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Mohammad Abdur Rahman, while hearing a petition filed by Justice Jahangiri, also restrained the varsity from taking any further action based on the recommendations of its Syndicate and Unfair Means Committee.
During the proceedings, KU Registrar Professor Imran Siddiqui sought more time to file a reply, telling the court that the university had received notice “the day before yesterday.” The court granted the request and adjourned the matter, after Barrister Salahuddin — representing Justice Jahangiri — urged suspension of the notification in the interim.
The SHC’s order marks the latest development in the ongoing controversy surrounding Justice Jahangiri’s LLB degree. On September 16, an IHC division bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar restrained him from performing judicial duties following a petition filed by one Mian Dawood.
Subsequently, Justice Jahangiri, along with IHC Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Babar Sattar, Saman Rifat, and Ejaz Ishaq Khan, moved the Supreme Court against the IHC order. Justice Kiyani argued that administrative powers could not be used to undermine the judicial authority of high court judges and urged the apex court to clarify the limits of a chief justice’s bench-constituting powers.
On September 29, a five-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan suspended the IHC order, allowing Justice Jahangiri to resume judicial work. Notices were also issued to relevant parties, including the attorney general’s office.
The degree controversy stems from KU’s notification dated September 25, 2025, which stated that the varsity’s syndicate, in its meeting of August 31, 2024, had upheld the Unfair Means Committee’s recommendation against Justice Jahangiri. The notification declared him guilty of using unfair means, barred him from admission to any college or university for three years, and clarified that he had never been enrolled at Islamia Law College, Karachi, in 1989.
Justice Jahangiri has petitioned the SHC to declare the notification null and void.
