IHC judge recommends sending urgent bail pleas to admin committee in CJ’s absence

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court Senior Puisne/Administrative Judge, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, has recommended sending urgent applications related to protective bail to the administrative committee in the absence of the chief justice.

In his order, the judge said that under the rules and regulations, the administrative judge does not have the authority to constitute a bench in the absence of the chief justice, nor does he have the power to constitute a bench in emergency cases. The judge, on an application of PTI lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat for protective bail, said that although the administrative judge has the power to mark an important case for the next day, he does not have the authority to constitute a bench for hearing despite marking the case.

According to the IHC senior puisne judge, this puts the petitioner approaching the court in a more difficult situation, because the petitioner could not get protection due to the absence of the chief justice.

He observed that a citizen not being protected by the court simply because of the absence of the chief justice is a matter related to their fundamental rights, due to which this matter should be placed before the administrative committee for consideration so that it can take a final decision on it, while under the High Court Rules and Orders, the matter can also be placed before the full court.

According to the order, the brother of PTI lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat had approached the Islamabad High Court for his protective bail on November 3, however, the registrar’s office objected to the request saying that the petitioner’s brother could not file the application without special power of attorney, while his lawyer had taken the position that a blood relative could file such an application.

Several other lawyers present in the courtroom also informed the court that they too had filed applications for protective bail for their clients but they could not be scheduled for hearing due to the absence of the chief justice. They said if the pleas were not heard today, their clients might face irreparable loss and harassment by law enforcement agencies, the judge observed.

According to the order, Sher Afzal Marwat’s lawyer said that his client was abroad and he was returning home on November 5 and if this security bond was not set today, he would be arrested by law enforcement agencies. However, when the court reviewed the relevant rules and regulations, the objections of the registrar office were found to be correct, which were upheld, the order said.

It is to be noted that the most senior judge of the high court is the administrative judge in the absence of the chief justice.