ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court held on Saturday that Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court was appointed chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) in the light of extraordinary circumstances, as all the judges including the chief justice at the time had resigned and the high court post had become vacant.

“As such, the initiation of the name of Justice Isa as the chief justice of the high court was made in the case of an exigency and thus is not hit by any illegality,” observed Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar in a seven-page verdict.

On April 5, a three-judge Supreme Court bench rejected a petition by Riaz Hanif Rahi challenging the appointment of Justice Isa as the chief justice of BHC and his elevation to the Supreme Court.

CJP observes that requirements of Article 193 were fulfilled in Faez Isa’s selection

In the detailed judgement, the chief justice observed that appointment was legal because it was made by the then president of the country and the governor of Balochistan had conferred the name, thus fulfilling the requirements of Article 193.

On the allegation that Justice Isa’s appointment at the high court was not legal therefore his subsequent appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court was also illegal, the verdict observed that since the court had held that the appointment of Justice Isa to the BHC as valid, therefore his subsequent appointment as a judge of the apex court could not be challenged on those ground.

It added that his appointment as chief justice of the BHC was not challenged at any forum while he served as the chief justice of the high court.

In his petition, Riaz Rahi had contended that there was provision in the Constitution for direct appointment of the chief justice of a province, and the guidelines in Articles 196 and 200 of the Constitution were not followed.

It added that the chief minister’s advice under Article 105 of the Constitution was mandatory for the appointment of Justice Isa as a judge of the high court, and that the acting governor was not the competent authority to forward his for appointment as chief justice of the high court.

It added that the appointment of an acting governor was a stop-gap arrangement made so he could look after day-to-day affairs as held in several judgements.

The seniority of other judges in the Supreme Court, who had held office in respective high courts prior to the appointment of Justice Isa, was being affected, the petition stated. It also contended that many judges who had more experience of judicial work had become junior to Justice Isa after he became judge of the Supreme Court.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2018