Naming SHC CJ as ad hoc SC judge: Sindh lawyers to boycott court proceedings today

KARACHI: The legal fraternity on Monday announced to boycott court proceedings on Tuesday over the proposed appointment of Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Sindh Bar Council, SBC members, Sindh High Court Bar Association and Karachi Bar Association representatives expressed their strong grievances and reservation over the proposed appointment of SHC CJ as an ad-hoc judge of SC despite the judge's (CJ SHC ) lack of consent.

The SBC vice chairman, Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, SHCBA President Salahuddin Ahmed and KBA president Naeem Qureshi said the principle of seniority was not being followed in judicial appointments and elevation of high courts judges to the Supreme Court.

They said it seems that Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had not evolved a set criteria for appointments and elevation of judges to the Supreme Court as sometimes the JCP prefers seniority, at times competence and occasionally the command of a judge over certain nature of cases.

They said that this discrimination was creating rift among the judges as recently witnessed during the hearing of some high-profile cases in the Supreme Court. They said an excuse was being made that in the past, senior high court judges recommended elevation of junior judges.

However, they said, it is now clear that no such consent was ever given by the senior judges for elevation of junior judges. Referring to Article 182 of the Constitution, they said it does not allow even appointment of a chief justice as an ad-hoc judge of SC and only permits a retired SC or HC judge to be so appointed at that position.

They said that if a chief justice was conceived to be a judge of high court, even then the consent of Chief Justice of that province was required under Article 182 (b) of the Constitution. They deplored that if a chief justice was appointed as an ad-hoc judge against his will, it shall set a terrible constitutional precedent and permanently destroy the independence of the high court.

Terming it the creation of a needless constitutional crisis, the bar leaders said it was being done merely because of the insistence of the judicial commission of not adhering to the seniority principle.

The bar leaders and their representatives requested that the Chief Justice of SHC be appointed as a permanent judge of the SC against the available vacancy. They said that the bar will challenge such ad-hoc appointment, if made, before the Supreme Court. The bar leaders also announced boycotting court proceedings on Tuesday (today) throughout the province.

Earlier, a media outlet reported that Justice Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh through his letter of Aug 5 to the JCP had dispelled the impression that he had at any stage either agreed or accorded consent to attending sittings of the Supreme Court as an ad hoc judge.