Former LHC judge's petition disposed of

The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of former judge of Lahore High Court (LHC) Farrukh Irfan's petition to declare proceedings of Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) unconstitutional, nullity in law and non est since he has resigned.
A five-member bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, observed that the petition has become infructuous after the resignation of respondent judge. Though questions of judges' tenure and independence of judiciary have been raised in the petition, these could be taken up if in future a petition of similar nature is filed before the apex court, the bench noted.
Muhammad Farrukh Irfan Khan on April 9, 2019 had tendered resignation as a judge of Lahore High Court (LHC), saying he was under pressure not to perform his duties in a free and fair manner. The Supreme Judicial Council initiated inquiries against Farrukh Irfan upon a written complaint of Nazar Muhammad Chohan that his name surfaced in the Panama Papers list of individuals having offshore companies.
The former LHC judge had challenged the SJC proceedings before the apex court. He contested that prima facie the complaint was not supported by any material, documents or evidence relating to his alleged misconduct. Farrukh Irfan had also filed a civil miscellaneous application (CMA) before the SJC seeking discharge of the proceedings due to the failure of the complainant to file his affidavit or appear as a witness.