JCP shares data of LHC senior judges with members

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has shared the data regarding the reported judgments and cases decided by the two most senior judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) with its members.

This was done as the commission will hold its meeting on September 9 to consider the elevation of LHC judge Justice Ayesha Malik to the SC.

The judge is on the fourth spot of the LHC judges' seniority list.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that the JCP has shared data of LHC senior Puisne Judge Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Shujaat Ali Khan with the members.

Five senior Supreme Court judges, law minister, attorney general for Pakistan, retired SC judge and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council are members of the commission.

Both the judges are senior to Justice Ayesha. LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti has already given his consent that he has no objection to the elevation of the judge as she will be the first female judge who will be appointed to the apex court.

In view of his consent, LHC CJ's cases data has not been shared with the JCP members.

Senior lawyers believe that sharing the data of two senior LHC judges reflects that they did not give their consent on the nomination of the junior judge for the post.

However, a senior lawyer stated that the consent of senior judges is not mandatory for the elevation. He further questioned whether the senior judges of the Sindh High Court had consented to the appointment of junior judge Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar for SC.

One member of the JCP revealed that the commission shared details of the decided cases and reported judgments by the senior LHC judges in order to review their performance and comparison with the work of Justice Ayesha.

He ruled out the possibility that their names would be considered for elevation to SC as chairman JCP only sent nomination of Justice Ayesha for elevation to SC.

Meanwhile, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan invited the representatives of the superior bars to give objective criteria regarding the appointment of superior courts' judges.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has already announced to boycott the SC proceedings on September 9.

The lawyers want the agenda regarding the elevation postponed until agreement on objective criteria by all JCP members.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that a questionnaire was sent to a senior LHC judge, wherein the JCP asked about his health issues and details of medication being used by him.

The lawyers’ opinions are currently divided on the questioning of senior LHC judges. One section of lawyers maintained that the JCP must evaluate the health conditions of the nominee before the nomination

The other faction opines that the questioning was a source of embarrassment for the senior judges.

They state that if the judges can work in a high court, they should be eligible for elevation to the SC.

One member of the JCP, Justice Qazi Faez Isa has left for abroad for the medical treatment of his wife. It is expected that he would remain absent from the JCP meeting on September 9.

Justice Ayesha is currently under consideration to fill the seat that will fall vacant after the retirement of Justice Mushir Alam. She currently ranks fourth on the LHC judges’ seniority list.

She became an LHC judge in March 2012. In case of her elevation, Justice Ayesha will work as an SC judge until June 2031. She will also become the CJP after the retirement of Justice Yahya Afridi in January 2030.

Also read LHC CJ approves nomination of Justice Ayesha to SC

Also read PBC expresses concerns over elevation of Justice Ayesha