Senior judge to mark cases in IHC CJ’s absence, says circular

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court registrar on Saturday issued a circular with the chief justice’s approval, stating that the authority to form benches solely rests with the chief justice. However, the power to mark cases will be exercised by a senior judge/administrative judge if the chief justice is not available.

According to the circular, in the absence of the chief justice, the additional registrar will seek instructions from him to form benches. In case of any kind of leave of the chief justice, the available senior judge can mark cases.

It should be noted that on November 3, 2023, the brother of Sher Afzal Marwat, a PTI lawyer and accused in a case, had approached the Islamabad High Court for his brother’s protective bail. However, the registrar’s office returned the bail petition with an objection, stating that the applicant’s brother cannot file this application without his power of attorney.

Due to the chief justice’s unavailability, administrative judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard an appeal filed against the objection. The applicant’s lawyer argued that a blood relative can file such a petition, following which many other lawyers present in the courtroom also informed the judge that they had filed similar requests for bail for their clients on an urgent basis. However, due to the chief justice’s absence, their hearings have not been scheduled.

If they are not fixed today, their clients may face irreparable losses and could potentially be arrested by the law enforcement agencies, they said. The judge subsequently examined the relevant rules and regulations and upheld the objections raised by the office. However, he recommended regulating the powers of senior judges/administrative judges in matters of urgent nature and referred the matter to the chief justice to place it before the administrative committee for consideration and a final decision.