Justice Aalia Neelum set to become first female LHC CJ

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday recommended the appointment of Justice Aalia Neelum as Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and Justice Shafi Siddiqui as Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC).

The meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) was held here at the Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the Chairman of the Commission. After thorough deliberations, the JCP unanimously approved the appointment of Justice Aalia Neelum as LHC Chief Justice besides approving the appointment of Justice Shafi Siddiqui as Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court.

After the approval of Judicial Commission, the recommendations will be forwarded to the Parliamentary Committee on the appointment of judges and if the forum also approves it, Justice Aalia Neelum will be the first female Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court.

According to sources, all the members of Judicial Commission had unanimously recommended the names of Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Shafi Siddiqui for their respective promotions. It also deliberated on the names of three senior-most judges of the Lahore High Court for the appointment of chief justice of the respective high court. The commission recently recommended the elevation of Chief Justice Lahore High Court Malik Shahzad Ahmed Khan to the Supreme Court. Justice Shujaat Ali Khan is performing duties as acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. Justice Aalia Neelum will be the first-ever female Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court in 142 years. She will be serving as the 47th Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) since 1920 and 54th overall since March 21, 1882, when this judicial institution was called the Chief Court of Lahore. Some called it the Chief Court of Punjab also.

In May 2023, Justice Aalia Neelum was a part of the Lahore High Court bench that had directed former premier Imran Khan to join the investigation in 121 cases registered against him. In April 2024, Justice Aalia Neelum was among the four LHC judges who had received suspicious letters. The three other judges were Justice Shujaat Ali Khan, Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan and Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh. Although the Lahore High Court comprises 60 justices and additional judges, some 24 vacancies are yet to be filled.

Justice Aalia Neelum was born on November 12, 1966 and got the law degree from University of Punjab in 1995. She was enrolled as an advocate a year later. She also served as an advocate in the top court after her enrollment in 2008, reports Geo News. The lady jurist has rendered a number of reported judgments on numerous important issues since her elevation to an LHC bench in 2013.

As per her academic qualifications, Justice Aalia did masters in political science from the University of Punjab and also holds diplomas in multiple fields related to law and judiciary. Moreover, she also acquired a B.Ed degree from her alma mater.Besides dealing with criminal, civil and anti-terrorism laws, Justice Aalia also performed as a focal person for gender-based violence courts among other works.