KARACHI: The Karachi Bar Association and PTI leader Shoaib Shaheen Advocate have filed a challenge against the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the subsequent change in the IHC judges’ seniority list.
The petitioners argue that the June 20 ruling by the Supreme Court misinterpreted the Constitution, particularly Article 200, which governs the transfer of high court judges. They contend that the Constitution does not provide for a permanent transfer of judges and that only the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has the authority to fill vacant positions in high courts and the Supreme Court. Additionally, they assert that the president lacks the authority to determine the seniority of judges, urging the Supreme Court to revisit its order and declare it null and void.
The Supreme Court had previously upheld the transfer of three provincial high court judges to the IHC, ruling that these transfers should not be considered new appointments. However, the majority of judges remanded the matter to the President of Pakistan to decide on the seniority of the transferred judges after reviewing their service records. This resulted in President Asif Ali Zardari naming Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar as the senior-most judge of the IHC on June 29.
