Mahaz says no government can endure on injustice as ACC receives JSC report six months after dismissal

Former Supreme Court Justice Mahaz Ali Zaheer has criticised the Anti‑Corruption Commission (ACC) for taking six months to obtain the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) investigative statements, saying no government built on injustice can endure.

Mahaz, who was abruptly removed from the Supreme Court last year along with Justice Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, reacted on Friday after the JSC finally forwarded the judges’ statements to the ACC. The ACC had first announced in February last year that it was investigating cases involving the two justices.

In a brief Facebook post, Mahaz described the situation as “the injustice of the oppressors,” adding:  

“There is no government sustained by injustice. Every government has an expiration date at the bottom of the can.”

The JSC suspended Azmiralda, Mahaz, and then‑Justice Husnu Al Suood on February 26 last year after the ACC claimed criminal cases were forthcoming. The JSC also said it was probing “behavioural issues,” after which Suood resigned. In May, the commission decided to dismiss Azmiralda and Mahaz, and Parliament, with a government supermajority, removed them on May 14 without what the judges described as adequate opportunity to respond.

The suspensions came shortly after the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging a constitutional amendment that would strip MPs of their seats if they defected, a matter widely seen as politically sensitive. The timing of the ACC and JSC actions drew criticism and allegations of interference.

Six months after the dismissals, the ACC requested the JSC to obtain and forward the judges’ statements. Although some JSC members objected, arguing there was no legal basis to share the material, the commission, dominated by government appointees, sent the statements.

The JSC’s investigation into the judges had originally been initiated at the ACC’s request. Internal disagreements resurfaced when the ACC sought the statements after the judges had already been removed.

The Judiciary Committee that reviewed the dismissal decision was chaired by Husnu Al Suood, who now serves as JSC chair.