MUZAFFARABAD, May 16: The Supreme Court (SC) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) here on Wednesday dismissed appeal against a high court decision of April 2010 whereby the appointment of two high court (HC) judges was declared ultra vires of the AJK’s Interim Constitution Act, 1974 and the Rules of Business 1985.

The apex court bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Azam Khan and Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan held that the procedure for the appointment of the judges of the HC prescribed under section 43(2-A) of the interim constitution, which was required to be followed in its true letter and spirit, had not been followed and the appointment of Raja Rafiullah Sultani and Mohammad Younas Tahir had been made without valid consultation.

In March 2007, Choudhry Shaukat Aziz and five other lawyers had challenged the two-month old appointment of Mr Sultani and Mr Tahir as judges of the AJK HC through a writ petition.

The duo filed an appeal in the AJK SC against an administrative order of the then AJK HC chief justice regarding the petition, and that appeal was kept unheard by the then AJK SC CJ Riaz Akhtar Chaudhry until a reference filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council on April 3, 2010 rendered him non-functional.

The said appeal was disposed off by apex court’s acting CJ Syed Manzoor Hussain Gilani on April 7, 2010, thus enabling the HC to initiate hearing into the original petition with CJ Ghulam Mustafa Mughal in the bench.

In his order, announced on April 30, 2010, CJ Mughal nullified the appointments of Mr Sultani and Mr Tahir for being in violation of the mandatory provisions of Interim Constitution Act 1974 as well as the Rules of Business adopted by the AJK Council.

The duo again filed an appeal in the apex court on May 18, 2010 which saw disposal after more than two years on Wednesday.

The bench held that the appeal was devoid of force and merited dismissal.

Separately, Mr Aziz and two other lawyers had also filed a leave to appeal in the apex court on May 5, 2010, praying for recovery of emoluments received by Mr Sultani and Mr Tahir following declaration of their appointment as unconstitutional.

However, the apex court bench dismissed that appeal as well and validated the acts done by the duo in the capacity as HC judges on the principle of de facto doctrine.