ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) administration on Wednesday terminated the services of 16 officials, including the brother of IHC Chief Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi, after the Supreme Court declare the appointments illegal in a landmark ruling.

The high court administration also repatriated nine officials to their parent departments, because they had been illegally absorbed into higher grades.

The administration also reverted Private Secretary Sabir Hussain to BPS-17 from BPS-18 after the SC declared his promotion illegal as well.

The appointments have been made in the IHC since 2011, and were challenged in the SC in January 2014 by former Punjab Bar Council vice chairman Mohammad Arif Chaudhry. The appointments had previously been challenged by Rana Abid Nazir and Raja Samiul Haq Satti in the IHC, but both petitions had been dismissed by high court judges.

An SC bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim on Sept 26 ruled that the appointments were illegal. The judgement stated: “A High Court is amongst the sacred establishments that stand as a beacon of justice.

It is amongst the eminent establishments that are entrusted by the nation with the shoulder-crushing responsibility of dispensing justice.

It goes without saying, that if appointments in the Islamabad High Court are made in colourful exercise of power or by bypassing the transparent process of recruitment provided under the Rules, it will have far reaching undulate effects on the public at large.”

While setting aside the appointments, the SC directed the senior puisne judge and the two next most senior judges, to examine the cases of all the appointments and recommended that a competitive process be undertaken within 45 days through the National Testing Service, as is being practiced in the SC and the Sindh High Court.

Those whose appointments were terminated on Monday include BPS-19 officers Mohammad Idrees Khan Kasi, Faiz Rasool and Usman Qadoos, BPS-18 officers Ghawas Gul Mastoi, Mohammad Kashif, Hafiz Mohammad Sufyan, Zaid Ahmed Barakzai, Mirza Abid Baig and Mohammad Hafeea, BPS-17 officers Waheed Nawaz, Faiza Mir, Abid Ashraf, Mohammad Hamid Mafeez and Beenish Butt, and division clerks in BPS-9 Mudassar Alam Khan Zai and Haider Ali.

Repatriated officers in BPS-18 included additional registrars (BPS-20) Umar Draz Shakir, Shahzada Aslam and Shakeel Ahmed Qazi. Imtiaz Ahmed, a BPS-18 officer was repatriated to BPS-17, while assistant registrar (BPS-18) Mohammad Usman Mir was repatriated to the private Allied Bank. Naveed Qaiser, Saqib Sheraz, Amir Abdul Majeed and Shakeel Raza were also repatriated to their respective parent organisations.

The three judge committee is also examining over a hundred appointments, and promotion cases of IHC officials to ascertain if there was any illegality in the rest of the appointments or promotions, and will compete the exercise within a month as directed by the SC.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2016