Legal bodies split over SHC CJ

Legal bodies are divided on the elevation of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh to the Supreme Court on account of allegations against him about illegal appointments of paralegal staff in the province.

In his first statement after taking over the post, newly-elected Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Hafeez ur Rehman Chaudhry stated that a judge, who was facing the charges of misconduct or poor performance, specifically the SHC CJ, who through his registrar was facing serious allegations of appointment of paralegal staff in certain districts of Sindh, should not be considered for elevation to the SC until the cases against him were disposed of.

The PBC vice-chairman further demanded that all pending references against the SHC CJ be decided on merit expeditiously.

He also stated that the act of the SHC CJ was condemnable whereby on January 4, 2020, he accommodated senior lawyer Rasheed A Razvi, by sanctioning his encashment for leave for six months and re-fixing his date of retirement on December 17, 2009, even though he had retired in 2000.

“After retirement, he [Razvi] continued his legal practice in the High Court of Sindh for about more than 20 years”, the statement added.

Soon after this statement, the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) reacted strongly to the development.

The SHCBA issued a resolution condemning the PBC vice chairman’s statement against the SHC CJ.

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It read that the SHCBA was of the firm view that the purported press release was the personal view of the vice-chairman and not that of the PBC.

"The vice-chairman is acting alone and the views expressed by him are entirely his personal views. In its deliberations of January 21, 2022, the members of the PBC made no such statement(s) and the purported press release by the vice-chairman is a gross abuse of the position he assumes and an abuse of the trust vested in him by the PBC,” it added.

"This Association has taken a principled stand against the vilification campaign against Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa and this Association shall continue to stand by such independent-minded justices. Mr Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh is yet another independent-minded justice and his integrity is unimpeachable. “

The resolution further read that the SHCBA and the KBA called upon all bars across the country to condemn the purported press release and the letter issued by the chairman of the PBC executive committee.

The majority of the PBC members agreed that the body’s vice chairman should have not given such a statement against the SHC CJ as it would affect the unity of the legal community in its fight for civilian supremacy.