Judicial nominations: SC seeks explanation from Parliament

SC seeks explanation from Parliament for rejection of four judges nominated by the Judicial Commission for LHC.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has sought an explanation from Parliament for their rejection of four judges nominated by the Judicial Commission to serve an additional year on the Lahore High Court.

“We want to hear the point of view of the parliamentary committee,” said Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, who was presiding over the four-member panel. The court expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of representation from Parliament to provide the explanation.

According to the recently passed 19th Amendment to the constitution, judges are to be nominated by the Judicial Commission but must be confirmed by the Parliamentary Committee on the judiciary.

The court had originally asked for the explanation from the attorney general, Maulvi Anwarul Haq, but he recused himself on grounds that he is also a member of the Judicial Commission. The commission consists of five of the senior-most justices of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, the federal law minister, the attorney general and a lawyer nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council.

The Judicial Commission had nominated 24 judges of the Lahore High Court to serve an additional one year on the Lahore High Court after receiving a petition to that effect from two lawyers, Munir Hussain Bhatti and Kamran Murtaza.

The constitution grants the parliamentary committee fourteen days to respond to the nominations. To be accepted by the committee, nominees must have the support of six of its eight members. Any rejection of nominations is required by the constitution to be accompanied by an explanation.

The parliamentary committee accepted 20 of the 24 nominees for extensions but declined to accept four: Muhammad Yawar Ali, Syed Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi, Mamoon Rashid Sheikh and Muhammad Farrukh Irfan Khan.

The Supreme Court has adjourned till March 24 and asked the parliamentary committee to submit its response before that date.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2011.