The Sindh High Court accepted on Tuesday two writ petitions moved by one of its former judges and an ex-judge of the Federal Shariat Court for grant of pension and other retirement benefits.

Former justice Mrs Majida Rizvi stated through advocate Mushtaq Memon that she served as a high court judge but reached the age of superannuation in 1999 shortly before five years of service. She said she was entitled to pension and other benefits like other judges of the superior courts under a Supreme Court full bench judgment of March 2008. The judgment gave retrospective effect to the President’s Order VIII of December 2007 and extended the benefits allowed by the order to judges retiring even before January 25, 2000. The SC held that denial of the same benefits to judges retiring before the year 2000 would violate the principles of equality and equal protection of law enshrined in the Constitution.

Ex-justice Qazi Abdul Waheed Siddiqui of the Federal Shariat Court submitted through advocate Abdul Hameed Siddiqui that he served for three years as an FSC judge and the SC judgment of March 2008 also covered FSC judges appointed for a specific tenure.

Elaborating the judgment, Deputy Attorney-General Badar Alam said it applied to judges retiring on attaining the age of superannuation. The judgment did not cover judges who relinquished after expiry of their tenure before reaching the age of retirement. Tenure appointment was like contractual appointment, which did not extend pensionary benefits to the appointees.

A division bench comprising Justices Yasmin Abbasy and Bin Yamin allowed both the petitions, observing that the SC judgment was applicable to all superior court irrespective of the duration of their tenure.

Protective bail