ISLAMABAD: The nation’s top legal forums have expressed misgivings and displeasure about the nominees a day before the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting that will discuss promoting Supreme Court judges.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), high court bar associations of all the provinces, provincial bar councils, and members and nominees of the bar councils to the JCP met jointly to express their displeasure with the appointment of junior judges to the top court, which they felt violated the seniority principle.
The SCBA President Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon and the Chairman of the PBC Executive Committee, Pir Muhammad Masood Chishti, called a meeting to discuss the situation resulting from the debates surrounding the operation of the courts and the selection of judges.
The judicial commission, which is led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, will consider promoting five high court judges to the Supreme Court, including Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed Khan of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), and Justices Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, and Naimatullah Phulpoto of the Sindh High court.Justice Rizvi, Justice Siddiqui, and Justice Phulpoto are ranked fourth, sixth, and seventh in the SHC’s seniority list, respectively, while Justice Waheed is fourth in the LHC’s seniority list.
The Supreme Court now has 13 judges, compared to the sanctioned strength of 17, and a fifth vacancy will arise on August 14 when Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, a JCP member, retires.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a senior puisne Supreme Court judge, expressed dissatisfaction in a letter dated July 26 to the Chief Justice of Pakistan that he was being asked to select his own successor despite the anticipated gap arising from Justice Shah’s retirement.
