The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday rejected the petition challenging the appointment of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Ibrahim Saifuddin Advocate, the petitioner, had stated that two senior-most judges were superseded for the appointment of the serving CJP.
He was of the view that the senior-most judge should have been made the CJP. “But the Special Parliamentary Committee, formed for the purpose, ignored the senior-most judges without giving any reasons for its decision.”
Justice Zafar Rajput asked, what procedure had been laid down in the constitution for the appointment of the chief justice of Pakistan.
The petitioner argued that it was the senior-most judge who was appointed as the CJP.
Justice Rajput said, “Don’t talk about the past. This was the procedure in vogue before the creation of Pakistan. However, after the country came into being, the procedure was changed.”
The judge went on to say how the wisdom of the parliament could be called into question.
The petitioner, however, insisted that the parliament could not take such decisions on its own.
Justice Rajput asked where in the constitution it was written that reasons for not selecting senior-most judges for the top position should be jotted down. “Go and read Article 175 (3),” he said while addressing Saifuddin Advocate.
He said it was when the high courts’ judges were dropped that reasons had to be given. “But there is nothing of that sort in the constitution with respect to the CJP.”
Reporter: Mumtaz Jamali