ISLAMABAD: Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenged the legality of the official seniority list and raised questions over the reconstitution of top decision-making committees.

In a letter written to the IHC chief justice, the judge expressed serious reservations over the legality of the seniority list issued on Feb 3, as well as the inclusion of transferred judges in administrative and departmental promotion committees.

The letter raised constitutional questions regarding the appointment of Justices Sar­dar Muhammad Sarfraz Do­­gar, Khadim Hussain Soomro and Muhammad Asif, who were transferred from the Lahore, Sindh and Balochistan high courts, respectively.

His primary contention revolved around Article 194 of the Constitution, which mandated that judges take an oath before assuming office in a particular high court.

Says transferred adjudicators bound to take oath as per Constitution

Justice Sattar argued that the transferred judges have not yet taken the prescribed oath as judges of the IHC, making their exercise of judicial and administrative powers legally questionable.

“It is under your watch that Justices Dogar, Soomro, and Asif have begun holding court and exercising powers as judges of the Islamabad High Court since February 3, 2025, in breach of the requirements of Article 194 of the Constitution,” the judge stated in the letter.

The dispute has intensified with the reconstitution of the Administration Committee, which now includes Justices Dogar and Soomro. The letter pointed out that even if the constitutional requirement of taking an oath was overlooked, Justice Soomro, being lower in seniority, does not qualify as one of the two senior judges required for appointment to the committee.

Justice Sattar wrote that public functionaries must act in a just, fair and reasonable manner while taking into account relevant considerations.

“You will agree that while exercising discretionary authority, judges are equally bound by the principles regulating the exercise of discretionary powers that we enforce in relation to executive action,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2025