ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), the body responsible for approving judicial appointments, on Monday elevated six high court judges to the Supreme Court.
The JCP meeting, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, considered the nominations for appointment of high court judges in the Supreme Court and by a majority of its total membership, nominated six judges.
The commission approved the appointment of Sindh High Court (SHC) judges Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Shafi Siddiqui, Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) Hashim Khan Kakar and Peshawar High Court (PHC) judges Justice Shakeel Ahmed and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim. Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq was also elevated to the apex court of the country, according to a press release issued after the meeting.
The commission also by a majority of its total membership nominated Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb as the acting judge of the Supreme Court.
Under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the commission was reconstituted to include four members of the country’s parliament.
Last month, the judicial commission rescheduled its meeting to February 10 from February 11 to consider filling eight vacant posts of judges at the apex court.
Earlier this month, the judicial commission sought nominations from all high courts, requesting a list of five senior judges from each.
Initially, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) forwarded the names of three judges including Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb. Justices Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Babar Sattar’s names were forwarded as they did not meet the minimum requirement of five years of service.
However, following the transfer of Justice Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the IHC, he was designated as the senior puisne judge, and his name was subsequently added to the list sent to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
Days before Justice Dogar’s inclusion, five IHC judges submitted a representation to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, seeking to reclaim their seniority.
In their submission, they argued that a judge takes an oath specifically for the high court to which they are appointed. They emphasised that, in accordance with constitutional intent, any judge transferred to another high court must take a fresh oath.
On this basis, they contended that the seniority of a transferred judge should be determined from the date of their new oath.
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Four Supreme Court (SC) judges also expressed similar concerns last week and called for the postponement of the JCP session until a decision was reached on the petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
In their letter, senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, and Justice Athar Minallah argued that postponing the JCP meeting was the only viable solution to uphold the dignity of the court.
They further argued that, under Article 194 of the Constitution, any transferred judge must take a fresh oath, which would place them at the bottom of the IHC’s seniority list.
