LAHORE: Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar was officially appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.
However, his appointment has given rise to the dispute, some judges have questioned his sanity. The decision came before Justice Amir Farooq’s elevation in the Supreme Court earlier Saturday.
Contrary to the routine practice, where a senior judge administered the oath of office of an acting Chief Justice, President Asif Ali Zardari overseeing the oath of office of Justice Dogar. Extraordinary arrangements have made speculation that the senior IHC judge, who had previously expressed concern over the transfer of Dogar, may have denied the event. The Ministry of Law and Justice confirmed the appointment through an official notification and said that he would serve in the role until the name of a permanent Chief Justice is taken.
Justice Dogar has then taken charge of the room court and has started hearing the cases. Their appointment is with five IHC judges after a legal dispute over judicial transfer. , Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from Sindh High Court (SHC), and Justice Muhammad Asif from Balochistan High Court (BHC).
Applicants argued that the transition unfairly affected their elders. However, former IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq dismissed the challenge.
The decision cited the constitutional provisions, especially Article 200, which allowed the president to move the judges between the high courts in consultation with his consent and with the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of the respective courts. Is The verdict made it clear that such a transfer does not reset the judge’s seniority in the new court.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Law and Justice has also appointed acting Chief Judge for other high courts. Justice Ejaz Swati was nominated as acting Chief Justice of BHC, Justice Junaid Ghafar for SHC, and Justice SM Attack Shah for the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
In addition, seven new Supreme Court judges took oath under Pakistan’s Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. These appointments include Justice Aamir Farooq, BHC Chief Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, SHC Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Justice Salahuddin Panwar, PHC Chief Justice Ashtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmed, and Justice Mengal. Hassan Aurangzeb includes.
Justice Aurangzeb was appointed as an acting Supreme Court judge under Article 181 of the Constitution, which could help him in pending taxes and trade cases.
Concerns about the judicial transfer process were also raised at the Supreme Court level. Justice Mansour Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, Aisha Malik, and Episode Mannala expressed their reservations in a letter to Chief Justice Afridi, raising questions about the transfer of judges without the oath -taking ceremony.
He described the process as “objectionable” and suggested that it could harm judicial transparency.
