ISLAMABAD: After a gap of over three years, Islamabad High Court (IHC) is likely to get a registrar from the judicial service as the incumbent, a senior officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, is relinquishing the charge next week.

District and Sessions Judge Tahir Sabir from the Punjab judiciary is expected to be inducted on deputation as the registrar of the IHC.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court also replaced its registrar Jawad Paul, an officer of PAS, with Ishrat Ali, another officer of the same cadre, this week despite the fact that the senior puisne judge of the apex court Justice Qazi Faez Isa had openly objected to such an appointment from the civil service.

Justice Isa even wrote a letter to Chef Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial in June this year to remove Registrar Jawad Paul before he “causes the institution further and irreparable harm.”

Justice Faez Isa writes letter to CJP Bandial, asking him to fill vacant posts of five SC judges

On Sept 28, the senior puisne judge wrote another letter to CJP Bandial to fill the vacant posts of five SC judges.

He expressed concerns that despite the pendency of over 50,000 cases, five vacancies of judges of the top court were still vacant.

He pointed out that the first seat of the SC fell vacant after the retirement of CJP Gulzar Ahmed on February 1, 2022, when Justice Bandial took over as the CJP.

Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin stood retired on March 23, Justice Maqbool Baqir on April 4, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel on July 13 and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah on August 12.

“Over 50,000 cases have accumulated in the Supreme Court. The chief justice and 16 judges constitute the Supreme Court. However, there are five vacancies in the Supreme Court, which work out to 726 lost days. It pains me to state that cases filed in the Supreme Court are unlikely to ever get decided if the vacancies are not filled in.”

The letter added: “People of Pakistan invested heavily in the Supreme Court which employs about 700 staff and has a considerable budget. Therefore, it is not understandable why the Supreme Court is working at a significant 30 per cent reduced capacity. Every passing day that the five vacancies remain unfilled adds to the existing mountain of cases, threatening to render it insurmountable, which may leave the Supreme Court dysfunctional. The same staff and money which would serve a full court also serves a truncated one, therefore, there is a needless hemorrhaging of resources.

“The Constitution requires that expeditious justice be ensured and this responsibility falls upon the Supreme Court, of which you are the chief justice. We must not let down the people of Pakistan, erode their confidence in the Supreme Court and continue to waste their hard earned money,” said the letter.

Justice Isa urged the CJP to “please convene a meeting of the commission immediately to enable the commission to nominate judges of Supreme Court.”

It may be mentioned that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan on July 28 rejected five nominations of the CJP for five vacant seats of the apex court by a majority five to four votes as the government members – the law minister and attorney general – also opposed these nominations.

Justice Bandial expressed his grievance with the ruling coalition during the opening speech of the new judicial year 2022-23, questioning whether an adverse decision from the court justified what he called the government’s ‘unprecedented’ step to refuse support for judges proposed by him before the JCP.

The CJP mentioned the July 26 apex court decision, which declared Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the chief minister of Punjab in the July 22 run-off poll, observing that the displeasure of the federal government on the decision became evident two days later at the JCP meeting on July 28.

However, Justice Isa and Justice Tariq Masood reacted to the CJP speech and said Justice Bandial had undermined the JCP by refusing to accept its decision on the elevation of judges.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2022