Mushir turns down offer to be ad hoc SC judge

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Justice (retd) Mushir Alam has declined to accept the nomination for his appointment as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court.

“After careful deliberation, under present circumstances, it is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept this esteemed appointment,” read Justice (retd) Alam’s letter addressed to SC Chief Justice and Chairman Judicial Commission Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

The former judge’s refusal to accept the said post comes after sources told Geo News that CJP Isa had nominated him along with Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqir Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood for appointment as ad hoc judges due to increasing accumulation of cases.

A retired judge can be appointed ad hoc judge in three years or less and four former judges of the SC have been proposed to be made ad hoc judges for three years.

The meeting of the Judicial Commission will be held on July 19 at 3pm in the top court’s conference room.

Appointment of ad hoc judges is aimed at ensuring more cases are decided than instituted and to reduce, and hopefully eliminate the cases which are pending adjudication for several years, said the SC notification.

As per the statistics reflected in the bi-annual report of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, the number of pending cases in the courts surged to 2.26 million during the second half of the year 2023, increasing the overall pendency of cases by 3.9%.

The report revealed that 82% of the pending cases (1.86 million) were at the district judiciary level and the remaining 18% (0.39 million cases) were at the upper tier, including the SC, Federal Shariat Court, and high courts.

As per the report, 2.38 million new cases were filed during the period, while the courts managed to decide 2.30 million cases.

In his letter to the CJP, Justice (retd) Alam said that after being laid off as a Sindh High Court judge, he had formed Vision Trust and established an eye hospital in Karachi for visually impaired persons and had “planned to resume his unaccomplished mission to give back to society”.

He further highlighted that he has registered “Vision Health Care Foundation” to establish a “Comprehensive Disability Management Centre” for which he has acquired 15 acres of land as well.

“Thank you again for considering me for the appointment as ad hoc Judge of the Supreme Court. I wish the court and your office all the best in your future endeavour,” said the judge.

While Justice (retd) Alam refused to accept his appointment as an ad hoc judge, sources say that Justice (retd) Masood and Justice (retd) Miankhel have agreed to their appointment in the top court.

Meanwhile, Justice (retd) Baqir has not yet submitted his response, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) on Tuesday demanded that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) consider senior lawyers for appointment as ad hoc judges or elevate senior high court judges to the apex court to fill vacant posts.

“Appointment of retired judges on an ad hoc basis is a violation of the National Judicial Policy,” read the statement issued by KBA Secretary-General Ikhtiar Ali Channa.

The KBA stated that there was no doubt that the shortage of judges in the Supreme Court and high courts was a serious matter.

“Why doesn’t the Judicial Commission appoint or recommend advocates as judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan as well as ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court?” it asked, adding that there was no bar on the appointment of lawyers as judges of the top court.

Meanwhile, seven members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Tuesday expressed their reservations about the nomination of four retired judges as ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court.

In a statement, the seven PBC members, including Shafqat Chohan, Abid Zubairi, Abid Saqi, Ishtiaq A Khan, Shahab Sarki, Munir Kakarh and Tahir Abbasi, expressed their reservations about the nomination of ad hoc judges by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

When Riazat Ali Seher, Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council said due to Ashura holidays, most of the PBC office-bearers could not be contacted adding that on Thursday after consulting with them, they would issue a proper statement on the issue.