• Seeks declaration against president’s unchecked discretion over transfers
• Apex court introduces e-filing system for faster case processing

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore Bar Association (LBA) on Friday urged the Supreme Court to declare that the president does not have unfettered discretion to transfer judges from one high court to another under Article 200(1) of the Constitution, unless justified by manifest public interest.

Moved through senior counsel Hamid Khan under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, the LBA petition also requested that the president’s exercise of powers under Article 200(1) be read alongside Article 175(A) of the Constitution without subsuming the powers of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to appoint judges to a particular high court.

The petition was filed against the backdrop of transfer of three judges — justices Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Khadim Hussain Soomro and Muhammad Asif — from Lahore, Sindh and Balochistan high courts, respectively, to the Islamabad High Court in February.

Earlier, on Feb 20, five sitting judges of the IHC became litigants by petitioning the Supreme Court to resolve their inter-se seniority. The petition — filed jointly on behalf of Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Saman Rafat Imtiaz — had also requested restraining the judges transferred to the IHC from performing judicial and administrative functions.

The LBA petition pleaded that the notification under which the transfer of judges to the IHC was made should also be declared unconstitutional and illegal for not being able to disclose any public interest and, therefore, was liable to be set aside.

Alternatively, the petition contended that the apex court should declare that the transferred judges not be considered judges of the IHC pursuant to Article 194, read together with the Third Schedule of the Constitution.

The petition requested the Supreme Court to declare that in line with the settled law in the Aslam Awan and Farrukh Irfan cases, the inter-se seniority of the transferred judges should be determined from the date they take oath as justices of the IHC and will consequently be lower in the seniority list of IHC judges.

The Supreme Court should also hold that the decision on the Feb 8 representation by five IHC judges to then IHC chief justice Aamir Farooq was illegal, unconstitutional and in violation of the settled law pronounced by the Supreme Court and consequently the decision on representation and Feb 3 seniority list of the IHC were liable to be set aside, it added.

The petition stated that the Supreme Court should declare that the JCP wrongfully considered a defective list of IHC judges in its Feb 10 meeting. It further pleaded that the Feb 12 notification issued by the president, appointing Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar as Acting Chief Justice of the IHC, was contrary to the law and that he could not have been considered a judge of the IHC. Consequently, it requested that the notification be set aside.

Likewise, the petition said, the Su­­preme Court should also direct the IHC registrar to issue a fresh seniority list in accordance with whatever declaration the apex court issues while deciding the present case.

E-filing

Meanwhile, in a step towards digitalisation and greater efficiency in judicial proceedings, the Supreme Court has introduced a new e-filing system at the Institution Desk.

Operational from March 17, all advocates and parties to a case are encouraged to submit both a physical (hard) copy and a scanned (soft) copy of their cases and applications at the Principal Seat and Branch Registries.

The scanned version can also be provided via USB or emailed to efiling@scp.gov.pk. The Supreme Court incentivises out-of-turn hearings as a reward for cases filed online, with such cases being scheduled and fixed for hearing within a fortnight.

This initiative not only aims to reduce paperwork and expedite legal processes but also seeks to enhance transparency and accessibility across the judicial system.

By encouraging broader adoption of e-filing, the Supreme Court und­erscores its commitment to creating a more streamlined case management process, ultimately ensuring that justice is delivered while drastically reducing transactional costs.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025