Appointment of Justice Aliya Neelum as LHC CJ challenged in Supreme Court

The appointment of Justice Aliya Neelum as chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has been challenged in the Supreme Court, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The petition was filed by Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) member Shafqat Mahmood Chohan on Thursday, stating that the appointment was unconstitutional as it was in violation of the seniority principle.

The applicant advocated that the seniority principle was settled once for all in the Al-Jehad Trust Case.

The PBC member urged the apex court to annul the appointment of a junior judge as LHC chief justice.

Justice Aalia Neelum had became the first woman chief justice of the Lahore High Court when she took oath in a simple ceremony at the Governor House in Lahore on July 12 last. 

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had unanimously approved her name in a meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa. The JCP had also considered the names of Justice Shujaat Ali Khan and Justice Baqar Najafi for this post. 

She replaced Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan who has been elevated to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. 

Chief Justice Neelum, who was third on the seniority list of the high court, was born in 1966. She earned her degree from the Punjab University Law College in 1995 and holds several other diplomas in law. 

She began her career in 1996 as a registered lawyer and was admitted to the high court in 1998 and the Supreme Court in 2008. She practiced in various fields, including constitutional, civil, criminal, and anti-terrorism law. 

In 2013, she was appointed as an ad hoc judge of the Lahore High Court and became a permanent judge in 2015. She also established standard operating procedures (SOPs) for recording evidence via video link. 

Reporter Hashar Ahsan