ISLAMABAD: The federal government has suggested reviving the practice of posting of judges of Islamabad judiciary to the federal ministries and its allied departments.

Attorney General (AG Anwar Mansoor Khan submitted the proposed draft to the Supreme Court to amend the Islamabad Judicial Service Rules 2011 to settle the issue of ‘rotation’ of judges from the district courts of Islamabad.

The apex court is hearing a petition filed by Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) President Riasat Ali Azad challenging Rule 6 to 9 of the Islamabad Judicial Service Rules 2011.

Attorney general submits proposed draft to Supreme Court to amend Islamabad Judicial Service Rules 2011

These rules are related to the initial appointment and posting as well as transfer of judges of the subordinate judiciary of the federal capital.

According to the petition, the judges cannot work for an indefinite period in a single district.

It requested the apex court to direct the respondent authorities to amend the Islamabad Judicial Service Rules to enable the posting/transfer of judges to other provinces and vice versa.

The rotation of judges working in the capital has been the longstanding demand of the local lawyers. After the establishment of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in 2011, a majority of judges were appointed on the vacant positions on deputation from the judicial services of the provinces.

The government suggested amending Rule 9A of the Islamabad Judicial Service Rules. Currently, there is no provision for sending the local judges on posting and transfer.

They could only be posted from one sessions division [Islamabad East] to another session division [Islamabad West].

The proposed amendment says: “A judge of the subordinate court may be sent on deputation to any revenue court, tribunal, special court, or any federal government office where such office requires a judge to be posted. In addition, a judge may also be sent on deputation to any other province should there be a demand from that province and the judge being sent on deputation agrees to such transfer.”

Under the proposed amendment, “such deputation shall not be for a period in excess of three years.”

For the judicial officers, the proposal is “workable” since it fulfills the demand of local lawyers who don’t want to see a judge in the district courts for an indefinite period.

In April 2009, the then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry during a meeting of the National Judicial Policy Committee decided to recall judicial officers working on executive posts owing to shortage of judges in the subordinate courts.

Earlier, the law ministry in its reply disassociated from the matter related to posting, transfer and deputation of the judges of subordinate judiciary and said: “The Islamabad Judicial Service Rules 2011 are made by the Islamabad High Court as provided under Section 6 of the Islamabad High Court Act 2010. Therefore, Ministry of Law and Justice is not involved in the appointment of officers of the subordinate judiciary of Islamabad High Court as well as in the transfer and posting of such officials.”

Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar in February this year visited the Islamabad High Court Bar Association and announced that their demand to rotate judges of the subordinate judiciary had been accepted and the modalities might be finalised soon.

Lawyers’ reaction

But the lawyers termed the proposal of posting judicial officers on administrative posts unsatisfactory.

The IBA president said it showed negligence of the attorney general since instead of bringing any workable solution he suggested the apex court what the chief justice had already rejected a few months ago.

He termed it a violation of apex court’s direction and said the bar association reserved the right of filing a contempt petition against the AG.

He said the bar demanded rotation of judges of the subordinate courts in different provinces but the recent proposal linked the posting with the consent of the judicial officers.

The association will start a series of protests and would announce boycotting the court proceedings if its demand was not met, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2018