Appointment of 21 judicial officers challenged

PESHAWAR: A sitting judge and a lawyer have challenged appointments of 21 judicial officers in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) currently posted on different positions in various districts of the province.
Additional district and sessions’ judge, now director administration Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy, Ihsanullah Khan Mehsud, and a Supreme Court lawyer Naveed Maqsood challenged the appointments of 21 judicial officers in 2003 through their lawyer Amir Javed.
They prayed the court to declare the appointment notifications void in light of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court. The 21 judicial officers and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government were made respondents in the petition.
It was stated that the petitioner judge is serving as judicial officer. It said he was appointed civil judge on July 29, 1998 and promoted as senior civil judge on August 11, 2003. The petition stated that under Rule 4 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Services Rules, 2001, the matter of appointment remained a statutory responsibility and this legal position was recently affirmed by Supreme Court of Pakistan through judgment passed in May 11, 2015.
It was stated that under Rule 2 (i) of the KP Judicial Services Rules, 2001 read with High Court Rules and Orders, the process of selection/recommendation of the respondents was to be carried by a “Judicial Selection Board” comprising of the Administration Committee itself or by such number of judges of the high court as may be nominated by the Administration Committee and not by the chief justice.