Six judges elevated to SC amid protests

Four JCP members boycott proceedings Four high court CJs among those elevated Litigants face difficulties as law

ISLAMABAD:

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Monday nominated six high court judges for elevation to the Supreme Court, despite calls from four of its members and protests from lawyers demanding the postponement of the meeting.

The JCP also approved the appointment of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb as an acting judge of the Supreme Court under Article 181 of the Constitution. According to sources, his appointment was made due to the increasing backlog of tax-related cases.

The 13-member JCP, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, convened to consider the nominations for Supreme Court appointments. According to a statement on the Supreme Court's website, the nominations were approved by a majority vote.

The judges elevated to the apex court include four high court chief justices: Hashim Khan Kakar of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui of the Sindh High Court (SHC), Ishtiaq Ibrahim of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), and Aamer Farooq of the IHC.

Additionally, SHC Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and PHC Justice Shakeel Ahmed were also nominated for elevation to the Supreme Court. However, according to sources, the JCP deferred the nomination of judges from the Lahore High Court (LHC).

The meeting was held despite demands from some judges and a section of the legal fraternity to delay proceedings until appeals against the 26th Constitutional Amendment were decided and the issue of the new IHC seniority list was resolved.

Last week, four Supreme Court judges, Senior Puisne Judge Mansoor Ali Shah, and Munib Akhtar, Athar Minallah and Ayesha Malik addressed a letter to Chief Justice Afridi, asking him to delay the appointment of new judges till the decision on the appeals regarding the 26th Amendment.

Later, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ali Zafar, who is a JCP member, also requested Chief Justice Afridi to delay the appointment of new judges to the apex court until the issue of the seniority of the IHC judges was decided.

At the outset of JCP meeting on Monday, according to the sources, Justice Shah, while referring to the judges letter, demanded postponement of the meeting. His contention was supported by Justice Akhtar, as well as Senator Ali Zafar and National Assembly member Barrister Gohar Ali Khan.

The chair decided to take a vote on the proposal for postponing the meeting. On that matter, the majority voted for continuing the meeting. After the voting, Justice Shah, Justice Ahtar Senator Zafar and Barrister Khan left the meeting.

The sources say that JCP member Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel asked Barrister Gohar and Barrister Ali Zafar not to leave the meeting, but they still did not stop. The two opposition politicians later spoke to the media at the Supreme Court.

After the elevation of the chief justices, the sources revealed, the senior-most judged in those high courts, would be sworn in as the acting chief justices, while the JCP would convene another meeting soon to appoint the permanent chief justices.

Amid the meeting, the lawyers and litigants faced difficulties as some section of the legal fraternity had called protest against the meeting and new appointments to the apex court. Because of the protest, several roads were closed in the area.

Because of low participation of lawyers and roads closures, Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Riyasat Ali Azad, requested the judges not to pass any adverse order in the cases. He said that the lawyers and litigants faced difficulties in reaching courts on Monday.