ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Com­mis­sion of Pakistan (JCP) is set to meet on April 8 to complete its unfinished agenda of elevating two judges from the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the Supreme Court.

The nominees will be selected from the five most senior judges of the LHC.

Presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, the last JCP meeting on Feb 10, 2025, had confirmed the appointment of six new Supreme Court judges and an acting judge under the 26th constitutional amendment, though it deferred the elevation of two LHC judges.

Originally, the commission was set to nominate eight new Supreme Court judges, but the decision to defer two appointments came amid lawyers’ protests outside the Supreme Court and a boycott by four JCP members, including senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.

At its Feb 10 meeting, the JCP, by a majority of its total membership, elevated the following judges to the Supreme Court: Balochistan High Court (BHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, SHC Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, Islam­abad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, and PHC Justice Shakeel Ahmad.

The JCP also nominated IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb as an acting judge of the Supreme Court under Article 181 of the Constitution.

The April 8 meeting, scheduled for 2pm at the Supreme Court Building, will also discuss the appointment of new chief justices for the SHC, BHC, PHC and IHC under the second proviso of Article 175A(5) of the Constitution.

Another key issue on the agenda is a request from LHC senior puisne judge Justice Shujaat Ali Khan seeking the removal of remarks and observations contained in the JCP meeting minutes from July 2, 2024.

At that meeting, the commission had observed that nominees for the office of chief justice of a high court must possess unchallenged integrity and an unblemished reputation in the public.

The JCP had then approved the elevation of Justice Aalia Neelum to become the first-ever woman chief justice of the LHC. However, it also observed that while the 1996 Al-Jehad Trust case held that the most senior judge had a legitimate expectation of being appointed chief justice of a high court, it was not an automatic right.

The JCP, while evaluating the credentials and suitability of the nominee for the appointment as LHC chief justice, had concluded that the nomination of Acting Chief Justice Shujaat Ali Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi was not suitable or fit to hold the top high court office due to alleged negative public perception as to their integrity and reputation among the judicial and legal fraternity.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025