Islamabad:
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for a majority of 9 to 4 nominated on Friday five more judges to the Constitutional Bank (CB) of the Supreme Court.
The new members of the CB are Judge Hashim Khan Kakar, Judge Salahuddin Panhwar, Judge Shakeel Ahmad, Judge Aamer Faooq and Judge Ishtiaq Ibrahim. After its inclusion, the total number of CB judges has increased to 13 with three members of each province and one of Islamabad.
It is read that during the meeting, cb head justice aminuddin khan suggesta the names, to proposal endorsed by nine Jcp Members including chief justice of Pakistan yahya Afridi, justice Jamal Khan commandhail, Pakistan bar couuncil (PBC) representative. Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Three Members of the Treasury Banco.
However, Judge Syed Mansoor Ali, Judge Munib Akhtar and two legislators of PTI, Barrímor Ali Zafar and the lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, were found of the majority, stating that all SC judges should be included in the CB.
He also learned that Judge Commandkhail had recommended the names of Judge Athar Minallah and Judge Shahid Waheed for its inclusion in the CB, but most JCP members did not support this proposal.
The commission in another meeting also nominated Judge Riazat Ali Sahar, Judge Abdul Hamid Bhurgri and Judge Nisar Ahmad Bhanbhro as judges of the constitutional banks in the Superior Court of Sindh.
A Constitutional Bank is not being created in any superior court, except in the SHC, where a judge that was number 9 in the antiquity list has been nominated as a member of the Constitutional Bank.
There is a perception at the bar that despite their age, dissident judges are not being included in the CB. Judge Shah had proposed that most of the five judges should be included as members for constitutional banks.
No reason has been presented to ignore eight major SHC Judges while constituting CBS. The same is the situation in the Apex court where judges who may have divergent opinions on high profile cases are not nominated for CB.
Lawyers also wonder how CB bosses could recommend names of judges for constitutional banks. They say that the CBS bosses will never recommend to the judges, who are greater than them, because they can no longer lead the banks.
Previously, government representatives in the JCP claimed that the majority of the judges of each province will be nominated for the CBS. However, the JCP did not follow the rule and the senior judges as Judge Shafi Siddiqui and Judge Athar Minallah were not nominated as members of the CB.
Abdul Moiz Jaferii lawyer said that more constitutional judges “have been given” to the Supreme Court for no reason or criteria granted or discussed.
“This time, with the cherry added on the top, the head of the Constitutional Bank called the judges that he wanted, with the formality of asking the JCP to determine individually which members would be part of the bank after saying that they simply needed more judges.”
Jaferii declared that things are “even better in Sindh”, where Judge Riazat Ali Saher arrived at the Constitutional Bank after his previous period in the Judiciary ended with a non -confirmation and his last appearance on a podium of the Supreme Court saw him cite him of the wrong law.
“Meanwhile, the Constitutional Bank postponed the hearings of the Military Court to a date in office. Asif Ghafoor as DG ISPR once said that silence is also an expression.
“It seems that this Constitutional Bank has taken this mantra seriously, where the inability to decide cases also looks more and more like a decision,” he added.
The senior judge of Puisne of SC, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who dissent from the majority decision, had demanded that the proposed rules must provide a mechanism and criteria for the nomination and determination of the number of judges for the CBS of the Supreme Court and the higher courts.
“The commission has already nominated and determined several judges of the Supreme Court and the Super Court of Sindh for the CBS in the absence of any current mechanism or criteria.
“Therefore, there has been no logic or reason that supports the nomination and determination of the number of judges for the CBS,” said a nine -page letter written by Judge Shah to the JCP secretary in December.
Judge Shah declared that the nomination and determination under articles 191a and 202a of the Constitution cannot be made in a vacuum and that the JCP must first establish an objective criterion through the proposed rules.
“The extent of the existing CBS of the Supreme Court will be presented tomorrow [today]. Therefore, it is imperative and mandatory for the JCP to formulate a mechanism and criteria for the nomination and determination of the judges for constitutional banks in the general interest of the public. “
Judge Shah suggested that the criteria could include the number of judgments reported by the judges about the interpretation of the Constitution, including additional dissidents or notes on the constitutional right that the judge has been authorized while it is part of a largest bank hearing important constitutional issues. “The proposed rules are currently silent in this regard,” he said.
During Friday’s meeting, CJP decided to constitute the committees to establish criteria for the appointment of judges of all the superior courts and also for the nomination of judges to the CBS of the Supreme Court and all the superior courts.
However, lawyers say that this exercise will be useless, if current CB judges decide high profile cases that have an impact on national policy.
There are reports that a CB of 13 members can take review requests against the trial that argued that the PTI has the right to obtain reserved seats in the National Assembly. The decision has not yet been implemented.
The lawyers wonder how Judge Aminuddin Khan could listen to the review requests, since the majority judges had approved a strict against him and Judge Naeem Akhtar Afghan in the sentence.
