Faulty procedure: Court restrains appointments to AJK Shariat Court

MIRPUR:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday imposed restriction on appointment of judges to the Shariat Court.

An AJK High Court bench in Muzaffarabad on Friday directed the authorities not to make any appointments till the final decision on the case.

The three-judge bench, headed by senior judge Munir Ahmed Chaudhry with members, Justice Tabassum Aftab Alvi and Justice Sardar Abdul Hamid, issued the order on a petition challenging the induction of Justice Muhammad Mushtaq Chaudhry and Sardar Muhammad Shahzad to the Shariat Court recently.

The bench however, rejected the petitioner’s plea that the two judges be restrained from performing duty.

Former president of Muzaffarabad Bar Association Sadaqat Hussain Raja, on Thursday filed a petition challenging the appointment of the two judges.

The petitioner contended that under the Shariat Act, 1993, only AJK president has the power to make appointment to the Shariat Court.

He maintained that the procedure for appointment of judges was contradictory to the basic human rights. It should be similar to that of appointment of a judge to the high court.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2013.