ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ruled that Pakistan’s high courts are independent constitutional courts and are not subordinate to either the Supreme Court or the FCC, clarifying the constitutional relationship between the country’s superior courts and reinforcing the judicial and administrative autonomy of high courts.

In a detailed judgment authored by Justice Aamer Farooq and concurred by Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah, the FCC observed that requests seeking directions from superior courts for the expeditious disposal of cases pending before high courts are frequently made but should be approached with caution to preserve the judicial and administrative independence of the high courts.

The ruling came on an appeal filed by the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) against an order of the Islamabad High Court in a dispute involving Master Tiles & Ceramics Industries Ltd.

The court first addressed the petitioner’s contention that an Assistant Attorney General had given consent before the Islamabad High Court on behalf of GEPCO despite lacking authority to do so.

Agreeing with the petitioner’s position, the constitutional court held that, in the circumstances of the case, the Assistant Attorney General was not competent to provide consent on behalf of GEPCO, which as an independent entity was entitled to be represented through counsel of its own choice.

The court subsequently converted the petition into an appeal, allowed it and set aside the Islamabad High Court’s impugned order.

It directed that the petition filed by Master Tiles & Ceramics Industries be deemed pending before the Islamabad High Court once again.

During the proceedings, counsel for the respondent requested that if the matter were remanded to the Islamabad High Court, the constitutional court should direct it to decide the case expeditiously.