LAHORE, March 11: The Lahore High Court issued notices to the attorney-general and the Punjab advocate-general in a writ petition challenging the elevation of five junior judicial officers to the bench.

Petitioner-lawyer Zafarullah Khan submitted on behalf of his Watan Party that the five judicial officers had been serving as accountability judges and working closely with the executive. They carried out the regime’s agenda against politicians and convicted, among others, two former prime ministers.

The petitioner said the first five judges in the seniority list of the provincial judicial service were totally ignored. One of the new judges figured as far low in the seniority as nineteenth.

He said the process of appointment of superior court judges should be as transparent as possible in the interest of the independence of the judiciary. There is a presumption that seniority and longer experience make a more competent judge and should, therefore, be sparingly disregarded.

Besides, the rejection of the rule of seniority in the appointment of judges, as observed by the Supreme Court in the 1996 Judges Case, will lead to a race among the judicial officers and judges to curry favour with the executive authorities of the day and impair the independence, impartiality and credibility of the judiciary.

Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad, who heard the petition, directed that notices be issued to attorney-general and the advocate-general for April 6.

The judicial officers appointed LHC additional judges for two years recently are Justices Parvez Ahmad, Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry, Farrukh Latif, Sakhi Husain Bukhari and Rustam Ali Malik.