- Justice Dogar notified as IHC’s acting CJ by law ministry last week.
- President doesn’t have unlimited powers to transfer jurists: petition.
- Adds Justices Soomro, Asif should also be barred from duties.
ISLAMABAD: A group of five judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the appointment of Sarfraz Dogar as the acting chief justice of the federal high court amid a seniority dispute raised by the jurists following his transfer from Lahore’s superior court.
The IHC judges, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz, submitted a 49-page petition via counsels Munir A Malik and Barrister Salahuddin under clause 3 of Article 184 of the Constitution.
Justice Dogar had been notified as the IHC’s acting chief justice by the law ministry last week following the elevation of his predecessor to the apex court.
Three judges — from Sindh, Balochistan, and Lahore — were transferred to the IHC, drawing severe criticism from the legal fraternity, including five IHC judges who were contesting the seniority criteria.
The jurists who opposed Dogar’s appointment were of the view that the judges transferred from other high courts should take oath anew to reset their seniority.
However, IHC CJ Aamer Farooq rejected a representation made by five judges of the IHC against the fresh changes in the seniority list, paving the way for Justice Dogar as the next CJ.
After facing rejection from the IHC, the petition filed by the IHC judges in the top court stated that the president does not have unlimited powers to transfer jurists under clause 1 of Article 200 and without public interests, a jurist cannot be transferred from one high court to another.
The petition also prayed to the top court to stop Justice Dogar from judicial work as the IHC acting chief justice. Subsequently, they also appealed to the SC that Justice Khalid Soomro and Justice Muhammad Asif should also be barred from performing duties.
The petition made the president, federation, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), registrars of the Supreme Court, and high courts of Sindh, Balochistan and Lahore parties in the case.
It is noteworthy to mention here that CJ Farooq rejected a representation made by five judges of the IHC against the fresh changes in the seniority list last week after the JCP decided to elevate six high court judges, to the apex court.
The chief justices of all high courts, except the Lahore High Court (LHC) were among the six judges nominated. These included Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Farooq.
Justice Dogar has become the senior-most judge among the IHC judges, as he took his oath as an LHC judge in 2015.
Nevertheless, their representation was rejected by CJ Farooq, saying the new oath was not required as their seniority was calculated from the time they took oath in their respective high court and not from the date of their transfer, The News reported.
Moreover, the responsibility for legal affairs was officially removed from Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq.
In their place, Additional Judge Justice Raja Inam Amin Minhas has been appointed as the new legal affairs judge for the IHC. He was made responsible for overseeing the operations of the court’s legal wing, a role he will assume with immediate effect.
The deputy registrar confirmed the appointment through a notification, following its consent by the CJ Farooq.
