No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Khwaja |
'''Khwaja Muhammad Ahmad Samdani''' (1932 – April 11, 2013) was a Pakistani judge who served on the [[Lahore High Court]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/88259/kma-samdani-the-sufi-judge/|title=KMA Samdani: the Sufi judge|date=April 21, 2016}}</ref> |
||
==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
Revision as of 16:00, 6 May 2024
Khwaja Muhammad Ahmad Samdani (1932 – April 11, 2013) was a Pakistani judge who served on the Lahore High Court.[1]
Early life and education
Khwaja MA Samdani was born in 1932 in Kareem Nagar, Hyderabad Deccan, and his family migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947.[2] After completing his education, he taught at Islamia College Peshawar before joining the civil service and later transitioning to the judiciary. He also pursued an LLM at Yale University on a scholarship.[2]
Career
In 1972, he was appointed as an additional judge at the Lahore High Court.[2]
In 1974, during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's tenure as Prime Minister, anti-Ahmadi violence erupted in Pakistan.[2] Samdani chaired the Rabwah Tribunal, which investigated the violence that took place on May 29, 1974.[2] Although the full report of the tribunal was not made public, it is noted that Justice Samdani considered the Second Constitutional Amendment, which declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims, to be a form of persecution against a vulnerable minority.[2]
In a lawsuit against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he granted bail to Bhutto despite pressure from the military government led by Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[3] Samdani's decision was seen as a display of judicial independence and impartiality.[3]
In April 1980, while serving as the federal law secretary, Samdani had a confrontation with Ziaul Haq over remarks the general had made about secretaries.[3] Samdani stood his ground and refused to apologize, believing in the correctness of his actions.[3]
In 1981, Samdani was presented with a new oath containing clauses he deemed unconstitutional.[3] Rather than comply with these clauses, he chose to retire from his position.[3][4]
References
- ^ "KMA Samdani: the Sufi judge". April 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "JUSTICE SAMDANI — Pakistan lost one of its great treasures". The Milli Gazette.
- ^ a b c d e f https://tribune.com.pk/story/534522/respected-jurist-judge-who-granted-bail-to-zab-dies
- ^ "Remembering Justice Samdani". The Nation. June 23, 2014.