Petition against judge’s appointment dismissed

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Justice Ashraf Jehan Jamali, wife of Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali, as a judge of Federal Shariat Court (FSC).

The chief justice said the high court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. He told the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Maulvi Iqbal Haider, Fawad Masood and Sheikh Nasir had filed the petition. They said that seniority of session judges had been violated in appointment of Ms Jamali (district and sessions judge) as additional judge of the Sindh High Court in 2013.

They said Justice Jamali had been transferred to the Federal Shariat Court after her appointment as additional judge of the SHC without approval of the Parliamentary Committee for Judges’ Appointment.

They said on September 1, 2014 the president had extended for one-year the tenure of Justice Jamali as an additional judge of the SHC while she was working as a judge of the FSC.

Later, they stated, Justice Jamali was repatriated to the SHC as additional judge in October, 2014 and was confirmed as a judge on August 26, 2015.

“She was again appointed as a judge of the FSC on August 28, 2015 in violation of Article 203 of the Constitution,” the petitioners said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2016.