‘Changing IHC rules without full court meeting is unlawful’

ISLAMABAD: A new controversy has arisen over amendments to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rules. Justice Babar Sattar has written to the acting chief justice and all the judges of the high court, saying that changing the rules without a full court meeting is against the law, and steps need to be taken to rectify the mistake immediately.

Justice Sattar has written to all his fellow judges of the IHC, including acting Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and senior puisne judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, saying that he has received the gazette notification of the IHC Rules 2025.

He said that under Article 208 of the constitution, the authority has the power to make rules. According to Article 192, the authority means the chief justice and the judges of the high court. He said that neither can this power be given to anyone else nor can it be exercised in any other way.

He said that it is a settled principle that the law under which discretionary power is given cannot be given to anyone else without a change in the law. In the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rules adopted by the IHC, the power of Article 208 was not given to anyone else.

Justice Sattar wrote that to his knowledge, no such full court meeting took place in which the IHC Rules 2011 were repealed or discussed. These IHC Rules 2025 are without legal authority and are made in violation of Article 208.

The letter states that this is against the law, according to the LHC Rules adopted by the IHC, and that the mistake should be rectified immediately.

The high court has made its own rules in violation of Article 208, which apart from affecting the rights of the employees, will also be a source of great embarrassment for the high court, Justice Sattar concluded.