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Wednesday February 12, 2025

CJP hails judges’ transfer to IHC

Chief justice stresses need for appointing more judges from different provinces to ensure broader representation

By Awais Yousafzai & News Desk & Sohail Khan
February 04, 2025
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi. — SC/Website/File
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi. — SC/Website/File

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi on Monday lauded the transfer of judges from other provinces to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), saying that Islamabad is a symbol of federation.

Addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the Press Association of Supreme Court, the CJP said: “The recent transfer of judges to the IHC is according to the Constitution. It is a very good step under Article 200 of the Constitution.”

The chief justice along with Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail the oath-taking ceremony. Justice Mandokhail administered oath to the new cabinet of Press Association of the Supreme Court. Justice Yahya Arfidi vowed to ensure every possible facilities to the Press Association of the Supreme Court.

He said that the issue of transfer of the judges should not be mixed, as the appointment of the judges and the transfer are both separate cases, and the IHC did not appoint the judges, they were already the judges of the high court.

The CJP said that a Balochi and Sindhi-speaking judge have joined the IHC which is a positive sign. He added that the federation belonged to all parts of the country. According to CJP Afridi more judges should be transferred to the IHC from other provinces.

“The appointment and transfer are two separate issues. These judges were already serving in the high courts,” said the chief justice. On the question of concerns among judges, the Chief Justice of Pakistan said, ‘I am trying and will continue to do more. I will engage in conversations with all the judges. I am the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and I will also go to the High Court judges to have conversations. It will take time, but everything will be fine.’”

Justice Yahya said that the matter of seniority would come to them, so an answer would be given then. “For now, do not form any impressions about it.” Talking about the backlog in the apex court, Justice Afridi said he was hearing 30 to 40 cases on a daily basis.

“We need more judges in the Supreme Court to reduce the workload,” he said. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) welcomed the transfer of judges and said that Article 200 of the Constitution clearly and unequivocally allowed the President of Pakistan to transfer a judge from one high court to another.

A written statement issued by SCBA President Mian Muhammad Rauf Atta stated that the association has always stood for the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and supremacy of the Constitution, and in doing so we welcome and approve the transfer of judges to the IHC.

The SCBA Executive Committee approved the recent transfers to the IHC through circulation. “Article 200 of the Constitution is absolutely clear. It allows the President to transfer High Court judges with their consent and after consulting the chief justices of both the high courts concerned and the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

“We note that the President has exercised this constitutional provision, and the due process for such transfers has been fully adhered to. On the other hand, Article 194 of the Constitution does not apply here as it solely deals with the oath of high court judges.

“In this instance, the judges are not new appointments to the IHC; rather, they have been transferred under the constitutional provisions. “Needless to mention that the judges recently transferred to the IHC shall retain their seniority from the date of their initial appointments in the High Courts from which they have been transferred.

“The IHC, when initially founded, was once regarded as the federal High Court, ensuring equal representation from all provinces and hailed as a judicial symbol of the federation. However, over time, that impression had diminished but has now been restored with recent transfers, particularly from smaller provinces such as Baluchistan. Nevertheless, this is not the first instance where judges from one high court have been transferred to another. In the IHC alone, there are numerous instances, even among the incumbent judges, who have been transferred from other high courts.

“We believe that the rotation of judges among different high courts under constitutional provisions is a healthy exercise. It allows the best legal minds to gain exposure in different high courts, further cementing and strengthening the judiciary while countering any impression of selective justice.

“We once again welcome the judges recently transferred to the IHC. In this regard, we categorically disapprove of all criticism on the matter, which, in our view, is undue, unfounded, and politically motivated,” the statement concluded.

Punjab Bar Council Vice Chairman Irfan Tarar and Chairman Executive Committee Farooq Dogar praised the decision to transfer judges and said that the transfer of judges from other provinces to the IHC was an important step towards restoring the federal character. All judges transferred to the IHC were worthy of respect. Negative comments or resistance against the move would undermine the principles of federalism.

Meanwhile, the IHC re-constituted the administration committee on the direction of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq. The IHC Additional Registrar issued a notification regarding the change in the administrative committee. According to it, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq would be the chairman of the administrative committee, while senior-most judges Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro would be its members.

In addition, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq also changed the IHC departmental promotion committee. Additional Registrar Ijaz Ahmed issued the notification with the approval of the chief justice. According to the notification, the new promotion committee would consist of Senior Peon Judge Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan.

A new seniority list of the IHC judges has also been released, according to which Justice Sarfaraz Dogar would be the senior peon judge in the seniority list, while Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has moved to second place on the list.

Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb is third, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri is fourth, Justice Babar Sattar is fifth, and Justice Sardar Ishaq Khan is sixth in the seniority list. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir is in seventh place, Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz is in eighth place, while Justice Khadim Hussain is in ninth place and Justice Azam Khan will be in tenth place, Justice Asif is in 11th place and Justice Inam Amin Minhas is in twelfth place.

Meanwhile, new IHC judges started work at the court. Only law officers appeared in the court of Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro. Justice Dogar, who came from the Lahore High Court, heard three cases.

The deputy attorney general and additional attorney general welcomed the judges. Earlier, the lawyers from the Islamabad Bar Council the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) and the District Bar Association boycotted courts on Monday in protest against the transfer of judges from other high courts to the IHC.

Islamabad Bar Council President Aleem Abbasi said the lawyers community had rejected the decision of the Law Ministry to transfer the judges from other high courts to the IHC. Meanwhile IHCBA President Riasat Ali Azad raised serious objection to the transfers, asking why an LHC judge was being brought into IHC.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) rejected the notification of the transfer of judges, and bar officials say that not one but three judges were transferred out of fear, and judges of their own choosing had been added. Officials of the LHCBA said that if the judges did not take a stand, their status would be lost, adding that the notification of the transfer of three judges to the IHC should be withdrawn.