ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) adjourned for Tuesday (today) hearing in identical petitions challenging the transfer of judges from various high courts to Islamabad High Court (IHC) and seniority of judges issue as well.
A five-member constitutional bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, heard the identical petitions, filed by six judges of Islamabad High Court against the transfer of judges to IHC.
Other members of the bench included Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, and Justice Shakeel Ahmed. On Monday, Hamid Khan, counsel for Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association, while continuing his arguments, submitted that the entire process regarding the transfer summaries of the judges was completed in just one day.
In response, Justice Shakeel Ahmed asked whether the Constitution or law imposes any restriction on completing the process within a day. Hamid Khan replied that in the case of transferring these judges to the Islamabad High Court, it seemed like the files were processed at rocket speed.
The counsel recalled that in the case of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, the entire process was also completed in a single day, which implies there were other intentions behind such haste. Hamid Khan submitted that the acting Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court had given consent, while the final approval was obtained from Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi at the end.
He further stated that the summary prepared on February 1, mentioned, for the first time, the issues of oath-taking and seniority. The issue was also challenged by Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) as well as Lahore Bar Association.
Five sitting judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz had filed identical petition in the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
They had challenged the transfer of Justice Sarfaraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court, and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court to the IHC. Meanwhile, upon the court’s query, Hamid Khan told the court that he would submit his written formulations by today (Tuesday) and consequently, the court adjourned further hearing.
