ISLAMABAD: The Sindh Bar Council has moved the Supreme Court calling for framing of rules and regulations for the elevation of high court judges on the principle of seniority.

On July 27, the Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Bar Council (KPBC) had req­u­e­s­­ted the Supreme Court to ensure that vacancies in the superior judiciary are filled purely on the basis of seniority.

The fresh petition was filed by senior counsel Rasheed A. Razvi and Syed Haider Imam Rizvi, the Sindh Bar Council’s vice chairman, on behalf of the chief of SBC’s executive committee, Shafqat Rahim Rajput.

The petition pleaded that it was aggrieved with the manner the elevation of high court judges to the Supreme Court was being done by the Judicial Commission (JC).

The petitioners contended that the JC was an independent body and it was their obligation to remain compliant with the Constitution and the law, while not being subservient to the executive in appointing a judge of the apex court.

The petition pleaded that the matter of elevation, appointment, posting, transfer and promotion in the superior courts could not be dealt with in an arbitrary manner and, therefore, could only be sustained when it was in accordance with the law.

The petition argued that seniority of the chief justice of a high court had been given extra importance in Article 175-A by including the names of chief justices as members of the JC, along with the next senior judge of the said high court, in the matter of appointment of an additional judge of the high court concerned.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2020