Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth passes away from coronavirus

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth passed away from coronavirus on Thursday.

A spokesperson from the Peshawar High Court announced the death, saying that Justice Seth had been suffering from coronavirus.

He was undergoing treatment at Kulsoom International Hospital in Islamabad.

Justice Seth was elevated to the PHC as Additional Judge on August 2, 2011, and took oath as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court on June 28, 2018.

He is most famous for being on the bench that handed the death penalty to former president Pervez Musharraf in a high treason case.

The Musharraf high treason case

Justice Seth's controversial observation in the detailed judgment of the high treason case — sentencing former military dictator Pervez Musharraf to death — had the government opt to take legal action against the judge.

Law Minister Farogh Naseem had slammed the observation, declaring him "unfit" for the role of a senior judge.

Request for elevation to Supreme Court

A March 30 report had stated that the PHC's top judge had requested the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to recommend his elevation to the Supreme Court on the basis of his seniority and merit.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, who is also the JCP chair, the judge had said he had a legitimate expectancy to be appointed as the apex court's judge and should be recommended for the appointment.