The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its judgment over the presidential reference on the appointment of judges in the superior courts.
President Asif Ali Zardari had sought clarity on his role in the appointment of judges in the reference, which was filed by the federation’s counsel Wasim Sajjad. A five-judge bench led by Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and comprising Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed was hearing the reference.
Sajjad, Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir, former Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan and Khwaja Haris concluded their arguments on Thursday. After hearing the arguments, the bench reserved its judgment.
Concluding his arguments, Akram Sheikh, counsel for petitioner Advocate Nadeem Ahmed said that Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi was eligible to attend the judicial commission’s (JC) meeting, adding that the commission had recommended appointing Justice Kasi as the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court.
He argued that determining the seniority of judges by the law ministry was against the basic principle of the judiciary and executive being separate entities.
Sheikh said that the composition of the JC was lawful, adding that President Zardari had no authority to make appointments of judges in place of the commission’s recommendations.
Sheikh said that the law ministry had issued a notification regarding Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan being the senior-most judge who should have been appointed as the chief justice of IHC on October 10 with the intention to halt the implementation of the commission’s recommendations.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2012.
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