- Judges request CJP to postpone meeting of judicial commission.
- New seniority list issued after transfer of three judges to IHC.
- Separate representations likely to be filed by two more judges.
ISLAMABAD: A group of five judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has once again voiced concerns over judicial seniority, as they formally submitted a representation to the IHC chief justice, objecting to the revised seniority list that was issued following the transfer of three judges.
A copy of their concerns has also been forwarded to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi. The judges have requested the CJP to postpone the meeting of the judicial commission for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court until the issue of seniority of judges is resolved.
After the transfer of judges from three provincial high courts to the IHC, a new seniority list of judges was issued with the approval of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, on which Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz have sent a representation to Justice Farooq that a judge takes an oath for the high court in which he is appointed.
They were of the view that according to the Constitution, a judge has to take a new oath when transferred to another high court, and the seniority of a judge transferred to another high court will be determined according to the new oath.
It is pertinent to mention here that the representation filed by the judges is related to seniority, and has nothing to do with the transfer of judges.
According to sources, separate representations are also likely to be filed by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir. The judges have also requested CJP Afridi to postpone the meeting of the judicial commission.
They said that the judicial commission meeting should be postponed until the issue of the seniority of the judges of the IHC is resolved.
Meanwhile, IHC CJ Justice Farooq has made various changes at administrative level after the addition of three new judges.
He has appointed Justice Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar as the administrative judge for the anti-terrorism courts and the accountability courts. Previously, Justice Kayani was the administrative judge of these courts.
Similarly, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan has been appointed as the administrative judge of the district courts (West) Islamabad.
As per the office orders, Justice Tahir has been appointed as the administrative judge of the FIA courts, and Justice Saman as the administrative judge of the banking courts.
— Additional input from APP
