- The Constitutional Bank of the Supreme Court releases an order of 55 pages.
- SC dismisses the pleas of IHC judges against the presidential authority.
- Constitutional Bank issued a short order on June 19.
The Constitutional Bank of the Supreme Court issued its verdict detailed in a case related to antiquity and transfer of the judges of the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC), ruling that the president’s powers to transfer to the judges of the Superior Court are independent but subject to certain conditions.
The largest Constitutional Bank of the Supreme Court was headed by Judge Muhammad Ali Mazhar and included Judges Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Judge Shahid Bilal Hassan, Judge Salahuddin Panhwar and Judge Shakeel Ahmad.
“It is clearly articulated by virtue of article 200 of the Constitution that the president’s powers for the transfer of a judge of the Superior Court of one Superior Court to another Superior Court is an independent article in its application, but with some security measures and safeguards and these powers do not depend on any other article of the Constitution,” said Judgment 3-2.
In February of this year, five IHC judges had transferred to the Apex Court under article 184 (3) of the Constitution against the appointment of Judge Sarfraz to give as the president of the Supreme Court of IHC, as well as the transfer of judges of the Superior Court.
The plea was presented by Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Judge Babar Sattar, Judge Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Judge Saman Riffat Imtiaz.
IHC judges had urged the Apex court to declare that the President has no discretion without restrictions and unbridled to transfer the judges of one court superior to another, under article 200 (1) of the Constitution, without a manifest public interest, and in a way that hinders the principles of the independence of the judicial and the separation of Powers.
His petition also prayed to the Apex court to declare that, in accordance with the established law pronounced by the highest court in the case of Asm Awan and Farrukh Irfan, the antiquity between respondents not 9-11 will be determined from the date on which oaths as IHC judges and, therefore, they would be lower in the age of seniority than the petition.
The Superior Court had assumed the matter on April 17. In its majority verdict of 3-2 on June 19, the Apex court eliminated the multiple requests with Judge Mazhar, Judge Hassan and Judge Panhwar, to put aside the plants.
The Afghan Judge and Judge Ahmad, however, allowed the requests and set aside the notification of the transfer of the judges.
In his detailed verdict of 55 pages published today, the Constitutional Bank declared that the President may transfer to the judges of the Superior Courts, but no judge will be transferred, except with his consent and after the president’s consultation with the president of the president of Pakistan and the main judges of both superior courts.
The exercise of the powers of transfer by the President under article 200 of the Constitution is not regulated or without restrictions, read the verdict.
Disienting the petition, the Constitutional Bank declared that the president’s powers for the transfer of judges of the Superior Court and the provisions contained by virtue of article 175a of the Constitution for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, the Superior Courts and the Federal Court of the Shariat by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan are two different provisions that deal with the different situations and niceties.
The transfer of a judge by the President under article 200 cannot be interpreted as a new appointment, read the sentence.
