Five IHC judges move SC against acting CJ amid seniority row

ISLAMABAD: Five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday challenged in the Supreme Court the appointment of Justice Sarfraz Dogar as the acting chief justice of IHC as well as transfer of judges from three high courts to the capital’s high court.

Five IHC judges -- Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz -- filed a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

The have made the President of Pakistan, Judicial Commission of Pakistan, Registrars Supreme Court, IHC, Lahore High Court, Sindh High Court, Balochistan High Court as well as Justice Sarfraz Dogar as respondents.

IHC former Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had rejected a representation made by the five judges against the fresh changes in the seniority list, paving the way for Justice Dogar as the next IHC chief justice.

Filed through senior lawyer Munir A Malik, the five judges prayed the apex court to declare that the president does not have unfettered and unbridled discretion to transfer judges from one high court to another, under Article 200(1) of the Constitution, without a manifest public interest, and in a manner that hampers the principles of independence of judiciary and separation of powers.

The five jurists also prayed the apex court to declare that the president’s exercise of powers under Article 200(1) of the Constitution is to be read alongside Article 175A, without subsuming the powers of the JCP to appoint judges to a particular high court besides declaring that the transfer notification is unconstitutional and illegal for not being able to disclose any public interest and is therefore liable to be set aside.

Similarly, they prayed the Supreme Court to declare that respondents Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Muhammad Asif cannot be considered judges of the IHC until they take oath as justices of the IHC pursuant to Article 194 read together with Third Schedule of the Constitution.

The five IHC jurists also prayed the apex court to declare that in line with the settled law pronounced by the highest court in the case of Aslam Awan and Farrukh Irfan, the inter-se seniority of Respondents No 9-11 shall be determined from the date they take oath as justices of the IHC and will consequently be lower in the seniority list to the petitioners. Similarly, they also prayed the apex court to declare that the decision on representation dated 08.02.2025 issued by the then IHC chief justice is illegal, unconstitutional, and in violation of the settled law pronounced by the Supreme Court, and consequently the decision on representation and seniority list dated 03.02.2025 are liable to be set aside. “Declare that the JCP wrongfully considered a defective list of judges of the IHC in its meeting held on 10.02.2025 by wrongfully considering Respondent No 9 for elevation to the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” the petitioners further prayed. They also prayed the apex court to declare that the acting CJ notification dated 12.02.2025 issued by the President of Pakistan appointing Respondent No 9 (Justice Sarfaraz Dogar) as the acting chief justice of IHC contrary to the law as the respondent could not have been considered a judge of the IHC and consequently set aside the said acting CJ notification. The five judges also prayed the apex court to restrain Justice Sarfaraz Dogar from performing functions as acting chief justice of the IHC adding that the Respondents Justice Sarfaraz Dogar, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Muhammad Asif be restrained from performing any of the judicial and administrative functions as the judges of IHC.