A five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acting chief justice and its two other judges as it took up pleas against their recent transfer to the court and the subsequent changes in the seniority list. The bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Salahuddin Panhwar, and Shakeel Ahmed took up petitions filed by five IHC judges, the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) and the IHC Bar Association, among others. 

Supreme Court of Pakistan has refused to immediately restrain judges who have been transferred to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from performing their duties.  The Supreme Court issued notices to Acting Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Khadim Hussain, and Justice Muhammad Asif, based on the petition filed by five IHC judges.Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that there are five separate petitions before the court, all revolving around similar issues.

He noted that the core issues are whether the transferred judges retain their previous seniority or start afresh in the new high court, and whether civil service seniority rules apply to the judiciary which, he clarified, they do not.During the proceedings, senior lawyer Munir A. Malik, representing the petitioners, said the objection is both to the transfers and the changes in seniority. Justice Mazhar asked Malik to read Article 200 of the Constitution, which governs judicial transfers. Malik argued that such transfers should be temporary and based on the judge’s consent.

However, Justice Mazhar pointed out that the Constitution does not distinguish between temporary and permanent transfers—it simply states that the President can transfer a judge with the consent of the judge and the Chief Justices of the concerned high courts, as well as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.Justice Mazhar further explained that a judge’s seniority is counted from the date of their initial oath, even if they are re-administered the oath after transfer.

He noted that if seniority is considered afresh from the new oath, it would negate the judge's previous service. The court also dismissed the request to summon the record of the judges' transfers. Justice Mazhar questioned what additional records were being sought, pointing out that the transfer notification was already on record. He asked whether the petition would be withdrawn if the procedure in the record turned out to be lawful.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)