JC defers appointment of ad hoc judges

Judicial Commission recommends one-year further extension to six additional judges of the Sindh High Court.

ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial Commission on Saturday deferred the issue of the appointment of ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court while also recommending a one-year extension to six additional judges of the Sindh High Court.

The commission, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, deferred the reappointment of Justices Khalilur Rehman Ramday and Rahmat Hussain Jaffery as ad-hoc judges of the apex court.

The re-appointment issue could not be sorted due to differences in opinion among members of the commission, especially the opposition of Khalid Ranjha.

Earlier, speaking to newsmen, Ranjha had said that both the Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association had already opposed ad hocism in the judiciary.

Justice Ramday retired on February 17 after serving as an ad hoc judge for a year while Justice Jaffery retired last year.

On February 14, a full court meeting passed a resolution seeking their reappointment as ad hoc judges under Article 182 of the Constitution for one and two years respectively.

The resolution drew flak from lawyer’s bodies, including the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

SCBA President Asma Jahangir and PBC Vice President Latif Afridi in their meetings with the Chief Justice of Pakistan on Friday expressed their reservations over the resolution.

The recommendations will now be forwarded to a parliamentary committee headed by Senator Raza Rabbani.