ISLAMABAD: Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, has asked for an immediate meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), which is long overdue, and suggested the names of chief justices of Sindh and Peshawar high courts to fill two vacancies of SC judges.
Against the sanctioned strength of 17 judges, the top court is currently functioning with 15 judges including Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.
In a letter sent to all JCP members, Justice Isa has suggested that the vacancies should be filled immediately, and the names of the judges to be nominated should be recommended before time while considering the principle of seniority.
Justice Isa suggested the names of SHC CJ Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and PHC CJ Musarrat Hilali for the appointment.
The JCP — a constitutional body that recommends elevation of judges to the superior courts — last time met in October 2022 when three judges were elevated to the apex court that too after a deadlock over ignoring seniority principle in picking the names of judges for their elevation to the apex court.
According to bar councils, elevating junior judges to top court demoralises senior judges and adversely affect judicial work, asserting that the very fact is predominantly against the principle of seniority as laid down in the Al-Jehad case or judges’ case.
In August 2022, the JCP invited Justice Shaikh by a majority decision of five to four to become an ad hoc SC judge for one year if he accorded his consent. But the SHC CJ twice declined to attend the SC sitting as an ad hoc judge and rather expressed willingness to be appointed or elevated to the position of a permanent judge.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) then condemned the majority decision to appoint SHC chief justice as an ad hoc judge of the SC, arguing that such appointment was in breach of Article 182 of the Constitution, as only a retired judge could be appointed as an ad hoc judge.
Justice Hilali took oath as PHC chief justice on April 2. She took several measures to introduce judicial reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by constituting special benches for commercial and tax disputes, criminal matters, service matters, civil and family cases, with the direction to complete trials within a stipulated period.
Senior counsel Akhtar Hussain, who represents the PBC on the JCP, told Dawn that he would write to CJP Bandial to invite his attention towards calling a meeting of the JCP rules-making committee for carrying out appropriate amendments in the relevant rules for laying down the criteria for appointments of judges in the superior courts.
He was of the opinion that a JCP meeting could not be called before amending the JCP Rules, 2010.
The last rules committee meeting, held in March 2022, remained inconclusive but decided to meet again after going through the proposals being agitated by the lawyers’ representatives.
Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2023
