- Justice Mirza becomes first high judge to quit following resignations of SC’s senior puisne judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Athar Minallah
LAHORE: Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza on Saturday tendered his resignation as a judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC), becoming the first judge to resign from any high court after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was enacted into law.
According to family sources, his resignation letter stated that in light of the latest amendment to the Constitution, he could not continue in good conscience.
Justice Mirza was appointed as an additional judge of the LHC in 2014, and his superannuation was due on March 6, 2028.
His resignation comes merely two days after the passage of the contentious 27th Amendment, which has been assailed as a “flagrant attack” on judicial independence by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
The move also follows the resignations of the Supreme Court’s senior puisne judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Athar Minallah, both of whom wrote strongly worded resignation letters censuring the 27th Amendment.
Amid speculation about possible transfers of high court judges, Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Saman Rafat Imtiaz of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) have hinted they might not be available to hear cases in the federal capital from next month.
In January, a complaint was filed in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Justice Mirza by Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Sheraz Zaka for allegedly favouring an oil marketing company. However, the federal government and the office of the attorney general for Pakistan had disassociated themselves from the plaint.
The 27th Amendment, besides bringing changes in other domains, alters the judiciary’s functioning in two areas—constitutional matters and the transfer of judges.
The legislation empowers the Judicial Commission of Pakistan to transfer high court judges without their consent—a provision that has raised concerns within sections of the judiciary.
The most notable decision made by the ruling coalition is the formation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which experts say has dethroned the Supreme Court as the country’s highest judicial forum.
The reason for those concerns is that the FCC will now deal with crucial constitutional matters and its decisions would be binding on all courts, including the SC itself. Under the new Article 189, the SC would be downgraded to the apex court for civil.
