ISLAMABAD:
The federal government on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the pleas against the transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the subsequent changes in the seniority list.
According to petitions filed by five IHC judges among others, the three transferred judges cannot be considered judges of the IHC until they have taken a fresh oath in accordance with Article 194 of the Constitution.
In its response, the federal government sought the dismissal of the pleas as the three judges have been “transferred as per the constitution [and they] are not required to take new oath after transfer” as under Article 200, it did not mean a new appointment.
“[The judges were transferred to] “bring transparency in judiciary, not affect judicial independence,” read the response submitted by the Islamabad additional attorney general.
“Article 200(1) deals with the power of the president to transfer judges from one high court to another, thereby attributing a clear permanence to the transfer,” it contended.
“No use of the term ‘for such period’ or ‘during the period’ in clause (1) of Article 200 clearly reflects that the transfer thereunder, unlike clause (3), [is] not in the nature of a temporary arrangement,” the response added.
“Permanency of transfer under Article 200(1) is also evident from the fact that to send the transferee judge back to his parent High Court, the President will have to follow the entire procedure provided under Article 200(1) again.”
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) has decided to withdraw its constitutional petition from the Supreme Court that challenged the transfer of three judges from other provincial high courts to the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
According to a statement, an authority letter has been issued to the Advocate-on-Record, Anees Muhammad Shehzad, authorising the withdrawal of the petition.
The decision was made during an executive committee meeting of the IHCBA, which concluded with a unanimous vote in favour of withdrawing the case.
The statement signed by the IHCBA President Syed Wajid Ali Shah Gilani and Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed Jajja noted that the decision to withdraw the petition was unanimous as the IHCBA is not an affected party in the case.
It emphasized that the issue pertains to the seniority of judges, adding that the matter was being contested by the concerned judges themselves in the apex court.
The matter is constitutional in nature and must be resolved through constitutional forums, the statement noted.
The bar association clarified that the constitutional petition was initially filed in the Supreme Court without the approval of its executive body by a former president of the IHCBA.
The executive committee, therefore, resolved unanimously to dissociate from the case and formally directed the withdrawal of the petition from the Supreme Court.
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