Justice Masood to doff his robes on March 8

Supreme Court senior judge Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, who is going to doff his robes on March 8, will hear 50 criminal cases from tomorrow until his last working day.

A full court reference will be held in the apex court judge’s honour on Friday.

Justice Masood is an expert judge in criminal matters. He was appointed as Lahore High Court (LHC) additional judge on September14, 2009. On May 11, 2011 he was made the permanent judge of the LHC.

Justice Sardar Tariq Masood is one of the independent judges who recognized the supremacy of parliament.

When the last coalition government introduced the Practice and Procedure Act to regulate Article 184 Clause 3, Justice Masood was among the judges who upheld the right to appeal against decisions given under this article.

He was one of the two senior judges who refused to hear the case challenging the trial of civilians in a military court directly in the Supreme Court under Article 184 Clause 3 until a final decision was announced on the Practice and Procedure Act.

A bench headed by Justice Masood had approved the bail plea of PTI founder Imran Khan in the cipher case.

At present, there are a total of 14 judges in the Supreme Court. Recently, Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Afghan was recommended for appointment as a judge to the apex court.

Justice Afghan will be sworn in as the fifteenth judge of the Supreme Court after approval by the parliamentary panel on appointment of judges.

However, after the retirement of Justice Masood, the number of vacant judge positions in the top court will increase to three.