KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday extended an interim order under which a Karachi University (KU) decision cancelling the law degree of former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri remains suspended.
Justice Jahangiri, who was removed from office last week following an IHC ruling, has been facing legal proceedings in both the SHC and IHC in connection with allegations that his law degree was invalid. While an IHC division bench headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar ruled on December 18 that his degree was “invalid” and that his elevation to the high court was “without lawful authority”, the SHC’s earlier order suspending KU’s decision continues to remain in force.
The extension was granted by a two-judge bench comprising Justices Yousuf Ali Saeed and Abdul Mobeen Lakho while hearing a contempt application filed against KU Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Mehmood Iraqi and Registrar Imran Ahmed Siddiqui. The interim order will remain operative until the next hearing, the date of which will be fixed later.
The contempt plea relates to KU’s alleged failure to comply with the SHC’s earlier order suspending the proceedings of the university’s syndicate and Unfair Means Committee, as well as its August 2024 decision to cancel Justice Jahangiri’s law degree.
During the hearing, both the vice chancellor and registrar appeared before the court and submitted affidavits. The KU registrar argued that the contempt proceedings had become ineffective following the IHC’s final verdict in the matter. He maintained that KU had not taken any action in pursuance of the SHC’s October 3 order and said the IHC had obtained the relevant records through the Higher Education Commission.
Vice Chancellor Iraqi told the bench that the degree records had been produced before the court without any alteration.
The order has been suspended until the next date of the hearing, which will be decided later. https://t.co/nTGwJcHntt
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 22, 2025
The bench directed Justice Jahangiri’s counsel, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, to receive and review the replies submitted by the respondents. Barrister Ahmed urged the court to hear the matter at the earliest, citing its urgency.
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Justice Saeed observed that it was the last working day of the bench and that the case would be taken up by an appropriate bench after the winter vacations. Following this, the bench extended the interim order until the next hearing.
Speaking to the media after the proceedings, Barrister Ahmed said the SHC order suspending KU’s cancellation of the degree remained in effect. He contended that the IHC decision had been based on an order that was suspended and continued to remain so.
He added that the bench had suggested filing an urgency application at a later stage, should the need arise.
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