Elevation of judges: lawyers to boycott courts on Oct 24

The bars of Sindh will boycott the courts on October 24 to express their disapproval against the manner in which the judges are being appointed in the Supreme Court from Sindh. The representatives of Sindh Bar Council (SBC) and Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) as well as members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan passed a resolution in this regard after a meeting in Karachi on Saturday.

"[They] express their dismay at the decision of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to nominate only two judges from Sindh." The resolution was signed by JC's members Akhtar Hussain and Syed Haider Imam Rizvi, SBC's Zulfiqar Ali Khan Jalbani and Inayatullah Morio and SHCBA's Shahab Sarki and Omer Soomro.

The lawyers said that three judges from Sindh retired from the apex court, leaving as many vacancies behind. However, only two judges are being elevated from Sindh to the Supreme Court while the third vacancy is likely to be filled from Punjab after which the number of that province's judges in the court will increase to eight.

"... the number of judges from Punjab shall go up to eight at the expense of Sindh," reads the resolution. The lawyers pointed out that in the last JC meeting CJP Umar Ata Bandial had himself underlined the need to observe the informal provincial quotas and even ethnic balance within the court.

"The abandonment of that principle has created great and justifiable resentment within the smaller provinces," reads the resolution. The lawyers also referred to the contention over the elevation of SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh to the Supreme Court and said the refusal for elevation of Justice Shaikh to the country's top court has been sending a wrong message to the people of Sindh.

"The Judicial Commission has sent a message to the people of Sindh that while Justice Shaikh may be considered good enough for them, he isn't good enough for the people of Pakistan," states the resolution.

The lawyers' representatives also noted that despite rejection of the nominations of Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shafi Siddiqui by the Judicial Commission on July 28, 2022, the CJP has nominated them again. "There is no justifiable ground for nominating them again."

They said that the seniority principle is being deviated through such nominations.

The lawyers said it is being speculated that the federal government will be provided relief in the cases against them being heard in the top court for the former's support for the said two nominations.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2022.