Three months on: Two IHC judges resume office as deadlock ends

Reappointment notification reinstated by apex court.

ISLAMABAD:

Putting a months-long back-and-forth between the president and the Supreme Court to rest, two judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) – Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi – finally resumed their duties on Thursday.

Implementing the reappointment of judges order, IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman administered a fresh oath to Justice Siddiqui as a regular judge, while Justice Qureshi, according to the IHC chief justice, did not need one.

On November 10, 2012, President Asif Ali Zardari refused to sign a summary regarding the appointment of the two judges despite the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) recommendation to make them permanent on October 22, 2012.

Both the judges were appointed as additional judges for a period of one year; however, after their term expired on November 20, 2012, both of them had relinquished their duties.



After the president refused to grant them the recommended extension, senior lawyer Akram Sheikh filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the decision.

Consequently on December 21, 2012, the apex court directed the law ministry to issue the notification for the reappointment.

Following the Supreme Court order, on January 16, the law ministry issued the notification of the two judges.

The oath taking ceremony was held at the IHC building where all judges of the IHC, including Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan, Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Khasi and Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi, were present.



According to the IHC Act, seven judges are supposed to perform their duties in the high court of the federal capital; however, only six judges were performing their duties.

Islamabad Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Syed Nayab Hassan Gardezi said that it was good sign that both judges had started working again after a three-month deadlock.

“We believe in the supremacy of the rule of law and this is a step in right direction,” he said. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2013.