In a historical judgment on Wednesday, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court dismissed an appeal of two judges appointed by former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf requesting their reinstatement.
A two-judge bench of the AJK Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Saeed Akram Khan, maintained that as Muhammad Younus Tahir and Raja Rafiullah Sultani were appointed as ad hoc judges of AJK High Court without consulting the concerned authority, their appeal “has no force, and merits dismissal”.
The two judges were appointed in January 2007 by President Musharraf without consulting then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who was chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Council. The two judges were later removed from service on orders of the AJK High Court.
The two-member bench maintained that under the AJK Interim Constitution of 1974, a vacancy for the offices of chief justice of AJK Supreme Court and High Court have to be filled immediately. “But it is the sorry state of affairs that in the past the chief justices [of the two courts] remained as acting chief justices for years and the concerned authorities failed to perform their constitutional duty,” they said.
The bench maintained that as per the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Al-Jihad Trust’s case, permanent vacancies of the chief justices and judges should be filled immediately or no later than 30 days under normal circumstances. However, a vacancy occurring before the due date on account of death or for any other reason should be filled within 90 days.
They directed that all future appointments of judges and chief justices in the Supreme Court and the High Court shall be made in the light of the dictum laid down in Al Jihad Trust’s case.
In light of the judgment, two posts of judges in AJK High Court stand vacant, which are to be filled within the stipulated time.
Advocates S.M. Zaffar, Talib Hussain and Muhammad Azam Khan appeared as counsels for the appellants.
Appeal against perks, salaries
A second appeal filed by Lawyer Chaudhary Shauket Mehmood for reclaiming the perks and salaries given to the two judges during their tenure was also dismissed by the two-judge bench of the AJK Supreme Court.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2012.
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