ISLAMABAD – Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) on Friday announced full support for the petition filed by the five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) before the Supreme Court regarding the seniority issue.
The IHCBA extended its unconditional support for the petition, stating that it fully backs the constitutional petition of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
The IHCBA also strongly condemned executive interference in judicial affairs and stated that the transfer of Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Khadim Hussain Somro and Justice Muhammad Asif is a clear violation of Article 200 of the Constitution.
Just a day earlier, the five judges of the Islamabad High Court challenged the seniority list in their petition, which was filed under Article 184(3) through senior lawyers Munir A. Malik and Barrister Salahuddin.
The petition asked the Supreme Court to declare that the President does not have unlimited powers under Article 200(1) regarding the transfer of judges. It argued that the judges cannot be transferred from one high court to another without public interest considerations.
Furthermore, the petition contended that Article 200 only pertains to temporary transfers while the transfer notification, seniority list and the decision on representation violate Article 200(1). It asserted that the judicial transfers should be temporary and must not affect the seniority list.
The judges also argued that their transfer to the Islamabad High Court was not made in the public interest but due to other undisclosed reasons. The petition further claimed that the transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court violated Article 175-A.
According to the petition, the President of Pakistan misused Article 200(1) by bypassing the Judicial Commission’s authority. The Supreme Court has been urged to nullify the existing seniority list of the Islamabad High Court, arguing that it contradicts Article 194 and the Third Schedule of the Constitution.
The petition also demands that Justice Sarfaraz Dogar be stopped from serving as the acting Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, and that Justice Khalid Somro and Justice Muhammad Asif be barred from performing judicial duties.
The President of Pakistan, the federal government, the Judicial Commission, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, as well as the registrars of the Sindh, Lahore, and Balochistan High Courts, and the registrar of the Islamabad High Court have been made respondents in the case.
The petition, filed by Munir A. Malik and Barrister Salahuddin, further argues that the failure of transferred judges to take a new oath is a constitutional violation. It asserts that a judge’s seniority begins from the high court where they originally took their oath.
The petition also criticizes the appointment of an acting Chief Justice in Islamabad High Court who had only served in the court for two weeks. It highlights that a judge transferred just two weeks ago was made acting Chief Justice and given full administrative authority.
The plea concludes that altering the seniority list through transfers is against Article 2-A and constitutes arbitrary interference in the administrative affairs of the Islamabad High Court.
The petitioners challenging the seniority list in the Supreme Court include Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Tariq Jahangiri, Justice Saman Rafat, and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq.
