Five judges of the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) requested on Thursday to the Supreme Court that restricted Judge Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz to give his duties as the president of the Supreme Court of Interim IHC.
The development is the last in the row that affects the IHC after the transfers of new judges to the Superior Court that led to a shake of the Antiquity list. The matter arose after the Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification on February 1, transferring three seated judges: Judge Dogar, Judge Khadim Hussain Soomro and Judge Muhammad Asif, of their respective courts higher than IHC.
Judge Dogar was transferred from the Superior Court of Lahore (LHC), Judge Soomro of the Superior Court of Sindh (SHC) and Judge Asif of the Superior Court of Baluchistan (BHC). The controversy focused on the alteration of the antiquity list after these transfers.
Five judges of IHC – Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, had presented a representation, telling that under the Constitution, a judge of the Superior Court must make a new oath oath transfer to a different superior court, which should affect its Antiquity ranking.
The five judges also did not attend the oath ceremony of Justice Dogar as the president of the Supreme Court of IHC in functions.
The five judges presented a petition in the Supreme Court today under article 184 (3) of the Constitution and mentioned the President, Pakistan Federation through the Secretary of Law, secretary of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, the registrars of the SC and four higher courts. , Justice Dogar, Justice Soomro and Justice Asif as respondents.
Article 184 (3) of the Constitution establishes the original jurisdiction of the SC and allows it to assume the jurisdiction in matters that involve a matter of “public importance” with reference to the “application of any of the fundamental rights” of the citizens of Pakistan .
The petition declared that the Apex court prevented the justice from providing functions as the president of the Supreme Court of Interim IHC and also preventing the other transferred judges from performing any of their judicial and administrative functions as Judges of IHC.
More to follow.
