KARACHI: Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput took the oath as the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori administered the oath at a ceremony held on the premises of the Governor House.

Besides judges of the high court, the event was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, senior lawyers, federal and provincial law officers and foreign dignitaries.

Justice Rajput has already been serving as the acting chief justice of the SHC since Sept 15. He became the senior-most judge of the SHC after the retirement of the then chief justice Mohammad Junaid Ghaffar.

He was notified as the regular chief justice by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Dec 5, as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan had approved his elevation on Dec 2, after considering the nominations of the top three judges for the position of chief justice of the SHC.

Born on October 16, 1965 in Hyderabad, Justice Rajput was enrolled as a lawyer for the subordinate judiciary in 1990 and became an advocate of the high court in 2001.

He had also served in the district courts as, initially, he was appointed as a judicial magistrate/civil judge in 1993 and promoted as senior civil judge in 2000. Thereafter, he left the service and started his private practice as a lawyer.

Justice Rajput was appointed as a judge of the SHC in August 2013 and he is set to retire in October 2027, if not elevated to the superior courts.

Presently, the SHC is functioning with 33 judges, including 21 permanent and 12 additional judges, against the sanctioned strength of 40.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2025