PESHAWAR: Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth took oath as the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court here on Thursday.

Provincial Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra administered the oath to him during a special ceremony at the Governor’s House, where caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Dost Mohammad Khan, judges, provincial ministers and lawyers were in attendance.

Justice Seth was appointed the high court’s chief justice by the country’s president under Article 193(1) of the Constitution on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission for Appointment of Judges.

Governor administers oath to Justice Waqar Seth

A notification in this regard was issued by the federal law secretary on June 26.

The president had elevated Justice Seth’s predecessor, Justice Yahya Afridi, to the Supreme Court. He took oath of his office in Islamabad.

As a high court judge, Justice Seth has delivered several important judgments.

His recent orders for regulating the fee of private schools in KP were appreciated by parents. He had also delivered a judgment about the appointment of Class-IV employees in different government departments on basis of favouritism and declared that practice illegal.

Born in Dera Ismail Khan on Mar 16, 1961, Justice Seth was elevated to the bench from the bar through appointment as an additional judge on Aug 2011.

He was later confirmed as the high court judge.

Justice Seth remained the PHC banking judge and company judge and a member of the service tribunal.

He had done his BSc from Islamia College Peshawar in 1981. He did his LLB from the Khyber Law College in 1985 and got master’s degree in political science from the University of Peshawar in 1986.

He was enrolled as a lawyer of the lower courts on Dec 18, 1985, the high court’s on Mar 22, 1990, and the Supreme Court’s on May 4, 2008.

Justice Seth’s retirement as the high court judge is due in Mar 2023 and if elevated to the Supreme Court, he will retire in Mar 2026.

After the elevation of Justice Yahya Afridi to the Supreme Court, the number of PHC judges has come down to 18 against the sanctioned strength of 20.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2018