Islamabad, Jun 19 (PTI) Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected petitions against the transfer of three high court judges, which would ensure continuity of one of them as the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court.
Five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had challenged in February the transfer of Justices Sarfraz Dogar, Muhammad Asif, and Khadim Hussain Soomro to their court, which, in their opinion compromised the principle of seniority in the court and that the transfer was against the law.
Later, Justice Dogar was made the chief justice of the IHC, much to the chagrin of the five petitioner judges Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz.
Former prime minister Imran Khan and the Karachi Bar Association too had filed petitions against the judges' transfers and seniority issues.
A five-member panel of the apex court heard the pleas and issued a split 3-2 judgment to reject the petitions, according to a short judgment announced by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazh, who had sided with the majority judgment along with Justice Shahid Bilal and Justice Salahuddin.
However, justices Naeem Afghan and Shakeel Ahmed dissented with the majority.
The panel ruled that the transfer of the judges was as per the constitution but referred the issue of seniority to the president of the country to decide it as per law.
The seniority is determined from the date of becoming the judge of a high court or supreme court and normally no issues arise. But the bone of contention in the case is whether a judge carries his original seniority on transfer or it is determined fresh after he joins his duties as judge in the new high court.
The problem began when three judges were transferred from different high courts to IHC last year and were assigned a seniority as per their joining of the previous high courts.
The decision made Justice Dogar as the senior most judge and he was also made acting chief justice, which affected other judges of the IHC. They then challenged it in the Supreme Court.
The seniority is crucial as the senior most judges are made chief justices and also recommended for elevation for appointment to the Supreme Court.