Another petition filed in Supreme Court over judges’ seniority row

The Islamabad High Court Bar Association has filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the president’s authority to transfer judges without public interest justification. This marks the second major challenge to judicial transfers in recent days. Filed under Article 184(3) by Bar President Riasat Ali Azad, the petition contends that the president does not have unlimited powers under Article 200(1) of the Constitution to reassign judges between high courts. It argues that judicial transfers should only occur in the public interest. The petition follows a similar move by five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) have filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, challenging judicial transfers and their impact on seniority. The 49-page constitutional petition, filed under Article 184(3) through senior lawyers Munir A. Malik and Barrister Salahuddin, argues that the President of Pakistan misused Article 200(1) by overriding the Judicial Commission’s authority in transferring judges. The petition contends that judicial transfers cannot be made without public interest and should not affect the seniority list. It further states that Article 200 only allows temporary transfers, and the current process violates Article 175(A) of the Constitution. The judges have urged the Supreme Court to invalidate the Islamabad High Court’s current seniority list, citing its inconsistency with Article 194 and the Constitution’s Third Schedule. The petition specifically challenges the appointment of Justice Sarfraz Dogar as acting Chief Justice of IHC, stating that he had only served two weeks in the high court before assuming administrative control. It also calls for Justices Khalid Soomro and Muhammad Asif to be barred from judicial work. The President of Pakistan, the federal government, the Judicial Commission, the Supreme Court registrar, and multiple high court registrars have been made respondents in the case. The five petitioning judges are Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan. The petition also asserts that the failure of transferred judges to take a fresh oath is a constitutional violation. It claims that seniority begins in the high court where a judge first takes the oath, and altering it through transfers is an unconstitutional interference in IHC’s administration.

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