SHC CJ nominates nine additional judges

Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh has recommended nine names, including one woman, for the appointment of additional judges.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial has summoned a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on March 16 to consider nine nominees for their appointment as additional judges of the SHC. Currently, 29 judges are working while the total strength of the high court is 40.

It has been learned that the SHC CJ has proposed the names of District & Session Judge Amjad Ali Bohio and eight lawyers namely Mohammad Abdur Rahman, Khadim Hussain Soomro, Arbab Ali Hakro, Jawad Akbar Sarwana, Saleem Akhtar Buriro, Sana Akram Minhas, Rashid Mustafa, and Syed Tarique Ahmed Shah. The SHC CJ has also nominated one woman, Sana Akram Minhas.

Last year, a majority of JCP members did not approve the appointment of seven SHC judges.

Sources told The Express Tribune that serious deliberations are going on regarding the elevation of two high court judges to the Supreme Court (SC).

Currently, two judges’ seats are vacant in the apex court.

There is a chance that both nominations can be made on a seniority principle. Judicial members of the JCP have been divided on the appointment of SC judges for the last five years.

Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan is retiring on March 30 while PHC senior puisne judge Roohul Amin Khan is retiring on March 31.

Strong voices are being raised from the bench and the bar of two small provinces over what is being seen as ‘improper’ representation in the superior court.

Last year, a delegation of four PHC judges met with CJP Bandial to convey their concerns over the non-nomination of a judge of PHC for elevation to the apex court.

There is also serious concern over the lack of adequate representation of women in the superior courts.

Advocate Mansoor Awan believes that female judges bring a different perspective to the court which male judges can largely not appreciate.

"A nation, more than half of which comprises women, their abysmally low representation in the superior courts is deplorable. We need to make all-out efforts to not only encourage women to join the legal profession but also give them more than a fair shot at elevation to the high courts. At present, there seems to be little or no sense of urgency to achieve this, which is quite disappointing," he says.

In 2021, the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment urged the JCP to consider women for appointment as judges of superior courts.

A member of the committee says that women and minority communities were the weakest segments of society, therefore, their representation must be ensured in the bench.

The former attorney general for Pakistan, Khalid Jawed Khan, had also raised the issue of the representation of women on the bench. The commission had also acknowledged his concerns in this regard.

Senior lawyers wonder why the judiciary did not consider the names of lawyers who belong to a minority community since the finest judges to have worked in the superior courts belonged to the minority community.