LHC produced 15 out of 29 CJPs

LAHORE: Not fewer than 15 of the 29 Chief Justices of Pakistan, or more than 50 per cent of the total, have to date hailed from the Lahore High Court Bar, research shows. It’s indeed impressive that 15 chief justices have come from the Lahore High Court. This institution has a rich history of producing renowned jurists who shaped the country’s judicial landscape.

While seven Chief Justices of Pakistan were members of the Sindh High Court Bar; two each came from the Peshawar and Balochistan High Courts. The first four out of five chief arbiters traced their connection to the Lahore High Court Bar. They were: Sir Mian Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Muneer, Alvin Robert Cornelius, S. A. Rahman, and Yaqub Ali. Thereafter Sheikh Anwaarul Haq, Afzal Zullah, Naseem Hassan Shah, Irshad Hassan Khan, Sheikh Raiz Ahmed, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Jawwad S. Khawaja, Mian Saqib Nisar, Asif Saeed Khosa and Umar Ata Bandial also hailed from LHC.

The shortest-serving Chief Justice of Pakistan, Muhammad Shahabud Din, came from Madras High Court. He served for only nine days. Pakistan’s longest-serving chief justice, Mohammad Haleem, came from the Sindh High Court. He dispensed justice for 3,205 days. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who came from the Balochistan High Court, is the only justice to have served three non-consecutive terms, calling shots for 2,480 days. Justice Fazal Akbar hailed from the East Pakistan High Court, while Hamoodur Rehman originally came from the Calcutta High Court.

From the Sindh High Court, the Seven Chief Justices coming are Muhammad Haleem, Syed Sajjad Ali Shah, Ajmal Mian, Saeeduz Zaman Siqqiqui, Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Gulzar Ahmed. The two from the Peshawar High Court were Bashir Jahangiri and Nasirul Mulk. The two Chief Justices from the Balochistan High Court are Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary and Qazi Faez Issa.

Tenures of 29 Supreme Court Chief Justices: Justice Sir Mian Abdul Rashid (5 years), Justice Muneer (5 years, 8 days), Justice Shahabud Din (9 days), Justice Robert Cornelius (7 years, 292 days), Justice S. A Rahman (94 days), Justice Fazal Akbar (166 days),Justice Hamoodur Rehman (6 years, 347 days), Justice Yaqub Ali (1 years, 325 days), Justice Sheikh Anwaarul Haq (3 years, 183 days), Justice Muhammad Haleem (8 years, 283 days), Justice Afzal Zullah (3 years, 107 days), Justice Nasim Hassan Shah (362 days), Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah (3 years, 180 days), Justice Ajmal Mian (1 year, 185 days), Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siqqiqui (209 days), Justice Irshad Hassan Khan (1 year, 345 days), Bashir Jahengiri (24 days), Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmed (1 year, 333 days), Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui (1 year, 180 days), Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary (First Tenure: 1 year, 253 days), Justice Javed Iqbal (Acting CJP for 15 days), Justice Rana Bhagwan Das (Acting CJP for 87 days), Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary (Second Tenure: 136 days), Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar (1 year, 138 days. His appointment was called a Recess appointment, later rejected by the Supreme Judicial Council and all his decisions were voided due to illegality of selection/nomination), Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary (Third Tenure: 4 years, 265 days), Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani (176 days), Justice Nasirul Mulq (1 year, 70 days), Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja (23 days), Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali (1 year, 111 days), Justice Mian Saqib Nisar (2 years, 17 days), Justice Asif Saeed Khosa (336 days), Justice Gulzar Ahmed (2 years, 42 days), Justice Umar Ata Bandial (1 years, 226 days), Justice Qazi Faez Issa (1 year, 38 days).