CJ calls meeting on SC judges on 28th

Sources say PHC chief justice, LHC judge and three SHC judges’ names to be deliberated upon

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has summoned a meeting on July 28 to consider the names of five judges from high courts for their appointment as Supreme Court judges.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that the names of the judges are Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed Khan, Lahore High Court (LHC) judge Justice Shahid Waheed and three Sindh High Court (SHC) judges including Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto.

Justice Waheed is the fourth most senior judge in the LHC. He will become the chief justice of Pakistan after the retirement of Justice Ayesha Malik in June 2031.

The three SHC judges rank four, six and seven in seniority. The top three senior SHC judges have not been nominated for appointment as Supreme Court judges.

Meanwhile, six judges were elevated to the Supreme Court without considering the principle of seniority during the last five years amid buzz in the legal fraternity about the matter.

Currently, four seats are vacant in the Supreme Court. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who is also a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), will retire on August 14.

The first seat of Supreme Court judge became vacant after the retirement of chief justice Gulzar Ahmed in February. However, there is a sharp split among the JCP members regarding the nomination of top court judges.

While one section within the committee endorses the seniority principle until objective criteria on the matter are evolved, the opposing camp – led by Chief Justice Bandial – holds that appointments should be based on competence, efficiency, integrity and temperament.

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In the wake of regime change, the situation has changed. The incumbent law minister and AGP are reportedly close to the superior bars, which are consistently opposing the elevation of junior judges to the apex court.

Two JCP members – Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood – are contending that seniority principle should be followed for the appointment of Supreme Court judges until objective criteria is not evolved.

Recently, Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar in his speech said that elevating junior judges to the Supreme Court “disenchants senior judges of the high courts”, who may feel slighted, thus, affecting their performance.

"More importantly, however, the absence of objective criteria for judicial elevations may pave the way for loyalists to be rewarded at the altar of fairness and objectivity,” he added.

Senior lawyers say that law minister and AGP votes will be significant in these appointments.  A representative of a bar revealed that both members are under pressure to support these nominees.

He said that the bar wanted elevation of Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah to the Supreme Court, adding that Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah would become a member of the JCP on August 14.

He expected that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah would endorse the bar’s view on judges elevation to the apex court.

The bar member questioned why the meeting was being called in “haste” as one JCP member and senior most judge Justice Isa was abroad.