ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) plans to challenge the government’s practice of extending tenure of additional judges of the high courts in the Supreme Court. “We are planning to challenge the recent extension in the tenure of three additional judges of the high court,” newly elected SCBA President Justice (Retd) Malik Qayyum told reporters here on Monday.

On November 29, President Pervez Musharraf had extended for a year the tenure of three additional judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Mohammad Nawaz Bhatti, Justice Hamid Ali Shah and Justice Shabbar Raza Rizvi.

The practice of putting judges of the superior judiciary on “probation” is not only humiliating and disgraceful but also an act on part of the government to undermine the independence of judiciary, he deplored.

Such extension in the tenure of additional judges especially when 15 seats of judges against a sanctioned strength of 50 are still vacant in LHC was deplorable, he said adding LHC’s strength had never ever completed in the history of the country.

Extension in the tenure of additional judges is also against the spirit of 1996 Al-jihad Trust case in which it was held that no additional judges would be appointed against a vacant post and that a new judge would be appointed before the retirement of an outgoing judge.

“What’s the use of delivering judgments when it is never meant to be implemented,” Justice Qayyum questioned and cited the example of apex court’s order of banning meals in wedding festivities being flouted openly and deportation of Shahbaz Sharif from the country despite direction of the Supreme Court to let him enter.

Malik Qayyum also dubbed the Asian Development Banks (ADBs) $100 million Access to Justice Programme (ACP) a farce and alleged that it might help in lifting the face of judiciary but “character” would never change. The real benefit is not reaching to the people though technical assistance is helping advocates and consultants to improve their condition in the name of AJP.