ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has stressed the need for adhering to the principle of seniority as laid down by the Supreme Court (SC) in the Al Jihad Trust case, in appointments to superior judiciary, particularly to the office of chief justice.

A resolution adopted at a meeting of the law reforms committee of the PBC warned that any deviation from the principle of seniority in the appointment of the chief justice of a high court would negate and violate the SC’s decision and impair and undermine the independence of judiciary.

The meeting, presided over by PBC Vice Chairman Akhtar Hussain, was held in Lahore.

On March 20, 1996, a five-member bench of the apex court, headed by the then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah, had laid down principles for appointment of judges in superior judiciary by disapproving of ad hoc appointment against permanent vacancies and asking to honour the principle of seniority among judges. The verdict was given on a petition filed by Habib Wahabul Khairi.

The PBC resolution came against the backdrop of a recent controversy over the composition of the 11-member Judicial Commission (JC) at its last session in which Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi had represented the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the absence of Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan. Mr Khan was supposed to attend the meeting as a senior judge of the court but was in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj at that time.

The JC recommended elevation of Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman as a judge of the SC, six-month extension of Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi and permanent appointment of Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui for the high court.

The Parliamentary Committee (PC) constituted under Article 175A inserted in the Constitution under the 18th and 19th Amendments approved the recommendations but the Presidency rejected them while raising objection to the composition of the JC.