The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench has issued notice to Islamabad High Court (IHC) acting chief justice and its two other judges after conducting hearing into pleas challenging their transfer to the IHC and the subsequent changes in the seniority list, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, the five-judge SC bench on Monday took up petitions filed by five IHC judges and others.
Earlier in February, Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) were transferred to the IHC.
The issue centered around the alteration of the judges’ seniority list after these transfers as Justice Dogar was made the senior puisne judge, which paved the way for his appointment as the acting IHC CJ after Justice Aamer Farooq was elevated to the apex court.
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan appeared before the court to represent the government, while Idrees Ashraf was present as the lawyer for ex-premier Imran Khan and Raja Muqsit. Ex-AGP Munir A Malik and former Sindh High Court Bar Association president Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed appeared to plead the case on behalf of the IHC judges.
The bench issued notices to the three transferred judges — namely IHC acting CJ Dogar, as well as justices Soomro and Asif. However, the bench rejected the petitioners’ request to restrain the transferred judges from performing their duties.
A notice was also issued to AGP Mansoor Awan. Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned till April 17 (Thursday).
President Asif Ali Zardari on February 1 had approved the transfer of one judge each from the high courts of Lahore, Balochistan and Sindh to the IHC, despite opposition from five of its judges. They had warned in a letter to top judges that any such move would “violate constitutional procedures and judicial norms”.
The five IHC judges including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz sought a court declaration that judges transferred to their court cannot be considered its permanent members until they take oath under Article 194 of the Constitution. They also challenged the seniority list considered by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on February 10, arguing that it “wrongfully” included the transferred judges, leading to improper recommendations for elevation to the Supreme Court.
Reporter Amanat Gishkori