The Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has called the Judicial Commission meeting on June 14 to consider the elevation of judges to fill the vacant Supreme Court seats, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.
Two seats of the Supreme Court judges are lying vacant because the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s meeting could not be convened for the last 10 months owing to the business of the senior judges.
According to the sources, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) will meet on June 14 to consider the elevation of Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice Musrat Hilali to one of the vacant seats.
Currently, the top court is functioning with 15 judges, including the chief justice, against the sanctioned strength of 17 judges.
Last month, SC Senior Puisne Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa penned a letter to CJP Bandial urging him to immediately convene a meeting of the JCP to fill the vacancies of the judges in the apex court.
He also suggested the names of the chief justices of the SHC and PHC for the posts.
The JCP last met in October 2022 where three judges were elevated to the top court.
The JCP is a constitutional body that decides appointments to the apex court, high courts, and the Federal Shariat Court.
The JCP is headed by the CJP, the next senior-most four judges, a former chief justice or SC judge, the law minister, the attorney general, and a senior SC advocate nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council.
The JCP meeting should consider the names of the two judges on the seniority principle.
Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, has already suggested the name of Justice Musrat Hilali