PESHAWAR, April 2: Three newly-appointed additional judges of the Peshawar High Court will take oath of their offices on Monday. Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan will administer the oath to the three judges, Justice Raj Mohammad Khan, Justice Said Maroof Khan and Justice Hamid Farooq Durrani.

With their appointment, the number of judges in the high court has risen to 14, still one short of the sanctioned strength of 15.

The president had appointed on March 31 the three judges under Article 197 of the Constitution for a period of one year.

Before his elevation to the high court, Justice Said Maroof Khan was serving as judge of the accountability court in Peshawar. He was appointed judge of Accountability Court No 1 soon after the establishment of accountability courts in the country after the promulgation of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance.

After completion of his initial term of three years, the federal government had again notified him on the same post.

Justice Said Maroof received immense media attention when he convicted the then federal interior minister, Aftab Sherpao, and the former director-general of the Peshawar Development Authority on December 31, 1999 in a reference relating to illegal allotment of plots in Hayatabad Township. However, the verdict was overturned by the high court.

Mr Justice Raj Mohammad Khan was district and sessions judge and before his elevation he was serving as member of the customs appellate tribunal in Islamabad.

The third judge, Justice Hamid Farooq Durrani, served as deputy attorney-general for Pakistan since 2002. He also served as NWFP advocate-general for a brief stint of about 10 days in June 2005.