Supreme Court looks at seniority under Article 200

The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned until Thursday (today) the hearing of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge transfer case.

A five-member constitutional bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, presided over the hearing.

During proceedings, the Advocate General for Punjab advanced his arguments, stating that West Pakistan was made a single unit in 1955 through the Pakistan Governor General Order.

As a result, all high court-level courts were consolidated into one, and a seniority list was compiled based on the judges' appointment dates.

However, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked that the situation in the present case was different, as no judicial formation or dissolution had taken place in connection with the transfer of judges to the IHC.

In response, the advocate general clarified that his point was only to illustrate that judges' prior service and transfers had historically been accepted.

Justice Afghan observed that the central question in the case is whether the judge's transfer is to be considered permanent or temporary under Article 200 of the Constitution.

He further inquired why a judge ranked 15th on the seniority list was transferred while 14 judges senior to him were overlooked.