IHC CJ rejects challenge to new seniority list
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq rejected a representation from five judges challenging the new seniority list, which was issued last week following the transfer of three judges to the IHC from three other high courts, sources said on Monday.
The chief justice ruled that the transferred judges did not require fresh oath, and that their seniority would be counted from the oath of the judge's first high court. Accordingly, the new seniority list of the IHC judges would remain unchanged.
On February 1, the judges strength at the IHC increased with the transfer of Justice Sarfaraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court, and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court.
On February 4, a revised seniority list was issued, designating Justice Sarfaraz Dogar as the senior puisne judge, followed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani as the second senior-most judge, and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb in the third position.
Justice Tariq Jahangiri was in the fourth place, Justice Babar Sattar fifth, Justice Sardar Ishaq Khan sixth, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir seventh, Justice Suman Riffat Imtiaz eighth, Justice Soomro ninth, Justice Azam Khan 10th, Justice Muhammad Asif 11th and Justice Inam Amin Minhas 12th.
Following the new seniority list, Justice Kayani, Justice Jahangiri, Justice Sattar, Justice Khan and Justice Imtiaz submitted a representation to the chief justice, saying that Justice Dogar could not be considered as an IHC judge until he took oath as required under Article 194 of the Constitution.
The five judges said that Justice Dogar had only been sworn in as a Lahore High Court judge. However, the IHC's seniority list already listed him as an IHC judge, placing him directly below the chief justice. They urged the chief justice to resolve the matter before the JCP meeting on Monday.
The sources said that Chief Justice Aamir Farooq rejected the representation and instructed the IHC Registrar's Office to inform all those five judges about his decision on the representation. Accordingly, Justice Dogar, who took oath as a high court judge in 2015, would be the senior puisne judge of the IHC.