ISLAMABAD: As a judge of Lahore High Court (LHC) is likely to be transferred to Islamabad High Court (IHC) soon, and the incumbent Chief Justice Aamer Farooq is being considered for elevation to the Supreme Court, the president of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) has urged the authorities to promote one of the local judges as the next chief justice.
Chief Justice Farooq is expected to join the Supreme Court as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is scheduled to meet on Feb 10. The JCP will pick eight judges from five high courts and Justice Farooq is the senior-most among all the chief justices.
Traditionally, the senior puisne judge of a high court is appointed as the chief justice, but the JCP earlier last year introduced new rules to bypass the seniority criterion in light of the 26th Amendment.
The JCP proposed that the chief justice of a high court could be appointed from among the panel of five senior-most judges.
IHC chief justice is likely to be elevated to Supreme Court by JCP on Feb 10; bar association president, cabinet seem not on same page over issue
According to sources, Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar of LHC is likely to be transferred to IHC. Justice Dogar was appointed as a judge of LHC on June 8, 2015.
In the IHC, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani is the senior puisne judge, who was appointed on Dec 23, 2015. Other judges in the seniority order are: Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
Upon his transfer, Justice Dogar will become the senior-most judge of the IHC until Justice Farooq’s elevation.
Justice Dogar is being transferred under Article 200 of the Constitution.
Article 200 says: “The President may transfer a judge of a High Court from one High Court to another High Court, but no judge shall be so transferred except with his consent and after consultation by the President with the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of both the High Courts.”
According to the JCP rules, following his transfer, the name of Justice Dogar will be included in the panel for the proposed chief justice.
It may be mentioned that earlier LHC’s Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam, Justice M. Bilal Khan and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman had been transferred to the IHC under the article and were appointed as the chief justice.
Previously, after the superannuation of the former IHC chief justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi, the name of Justice Shahid Karim was considered for the CJ.
Two IHC judges Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan on Thursday met Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi.
Sources said Justice Afridi called them for a meeting following Justice Kayani’s public speech in which he claimed that the 26th amendment was the consequence of a letter.
Though Justice Kayani did not specify the letter, he was apparently referring to the correspondence of six judges to the SJC that accused intelligence agencies of meddling in judicial affairs.
In addition, the senior puisne judge of the IHC in his speech also hoped that the case related to 26th constitutional amendment would be heard by a full court of the Supreme Court.
It may be noted that former judge of the IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui faced a reference before the Supreme Court after delivering a speech publically, alleging involvement of intelligence agencies in the affairs of the judiciary.
Sources said the judges at the meeting on Thursday also discussed the possible transfer of Justice Dogar from Lahore to the IHC.
A few judges of the IHC have already expressed their concerns to the CJP over the transfer. However, the sources claimed that the formal process for the posting of Justice Dogar had already begun.
According to the sources, another judge from Sindh High Court (SHC) may also be transferred to the IHC.
IHCBA president’s statement
IHCBA President Riasat Ali Azad in a statement opposed the appointment of a judge from LHC as the chief justice of the IHC.
Mr Azad, whose term is going to expire in a couple of weeks, warned mass scale lawyers protests in case the JCP does not appoint the next chief justice from amongst the local judges.
He urged the JCP to consider a panel of only those judges who are currently working in the IHC.
Apparently, the president and cabinet of the IHCBA are not on the same page over the issue.
Insiders said following issuance of the statement, the elected office-bearers expressed their dissent and advised the president to avoid ‘solo flight’.
The insiders said the office-bearers also asked President Azad to hold a meeting of the executive committee of the IHCBA before issuing such statements.
When contacted, IHCBA Vice President Mujahid Asif confirmed that no meeting of the executive committee of the association was convened on the particular issue.
Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025
