PESHAWAR, Sep 23: The reappointment of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts and awarding them seniority by the federal government was challenged before the Supreme Court here on Tuesday.

Advocate Moazam Butt filed a constitutional petition before the Supreme Court’s Peshawar Registry praying that the Chief Justice and judges of superior courts who were not given or who did not take oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007, ceased to hold their respective offices on Nov 3 and their cases could not be re-opened being hit by the doctrine of past and closed transaction.

The petitioner stated that the notifications of reappointment of Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Tariq Pervez (respondent No 9), respondent No 10, Justice Shahjehan Khan, and respondent No 11, Justice Dost Mohammad Khan, as judges of the high court having ceased to hold their offices on Nov 3 in view of the Supreme Court judgment titled “Tika Iqbal Mohammad Khan and others versus General Pervez Musharraf” was illegal, void, without lawful authority, not in accordance with law and without legal effect or consequences whatsoever.

He requested the apex court to declare that any order or judgment passed by the reappointed judges of the superior judiciary would be illegal and of no legal effect.

The petitioner, who is central deputy information secretary of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, stated that the seniority list issued under the order of Justice Tariq Pervez, re-designating respondent No 10 and 11 as senior judges at serial No 2 and 3 was in violation of Article 255(3) of the Constitution and being so was ineffective against the rights of those judges who had taken oath and entered upon the office prior to them.

Mr Butt requested the Supreme Court that the notification of reappointment of respondent as PHC chief justice might be set aside with a direction that he should not hold or consider himself as the chief justice and should refrain from passing any judgment or order as a judge of the high court.

The petitioner questioned whether the notifications of reappointment of former deposed chief justice and other judges of the PHC issued by the law and justice division, Islamabad, was not in direct conflict with the full court judgment of Supreme Court in Tika Iqbal case wherein it had been specifically held: “Chief Justices and Judges of the superior courts who were not given, or who did not make oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007, had ceased to hold their respective offices on Nov 3 and their cases cannot be reopened being hit by the doctrine of past and closed transaction.”