Justice Dogar rises amid judicial rifts

ISLAMABAD:

Amid growing unease and protest within the legal fraternity, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Sunday unveiled its new duty roster for the coming week, placing three newly transferred judges on key benches — elevating Justice Sarfraz Dogar as the senior puisne judge.

Justice Dogar, transferred from the Lahore High Court (LHC), now holds the reins at the important Bench 2, a position traditionally reserved for the most senior judge after the chief justice.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, who previously held the position, has now been reassigned to Bench 3.

The shake-up has set off alarm bells in legal circles, coming just days after five out of ten IHC judges formally opposed Justice Dogar’s transfer, warning that his potential elevation as chief justice would violate constitutional procedures and judicial norms.

The letter surfaced amid mounting speculation that Justice Dogar is in line to become the next IHC chief justice, as the current top judge is expected to be elevated to the Supreme Court.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is set to finalise key judicial appointments on February 10, selecting eight judges from five high courts.

Justice Kayani, previously the senior-most judge after the chief justice, will now preside over Bench 3 following the reshuffling of judicial seniority due to the new appointments.

Meanwhile, according to the roster, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court has been designated to Bench 9, while Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court will head Bench 12.

The duty roster said that the three newly transferred judges will commence hearing cases from Monday (today). From February 3 to February 7, six division benches and 13 single benches will be available for hearings.

However, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz will not be available on February 7.

The first division bench will comprise Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Inam Ameen Minhas. The second division bench will include the newly transferred judges, Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro.

The third division bench will consist of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, while the fourth division bench will be headed by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz. This bench will not be available on February 7.

The fifth division bench will comprise Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Azam Khan, while the sixth division bench will include Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir.

In addition to the standard benches, special division benches and larger benches will also be available as per the chief justice’s directive. The duty roster was issued by the deputy registrar (judicial) with the chief justice’s approval.

Justice Dogar will remain the senior-most judge of the IHC until Justice Farooq’s elevation.

He was transferred under Article 200 of the Constitution. Article 200 says: “The President may transfer a judge of a High Court from one High Court to another High Court, but no judge shall be so transferred except with his consent and after consultation by the President with the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of both the High Courts.”

According to the JCP rules, following his transfer, the name of Justice Dogar will be included in the panel for the proposed chief justice.

It may be mentioned that earlier LHC’s Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam, Justice M Bilal Khan and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman had been transferred to the IHC under the article and were appointed as the chief justice.

Previously, after the superannuation of the former IHC chief justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi, the name of Justice Shahid Karim was considered for the CJ.

Lawyers’ strike

Meanwhile, the legal fraternity in the federal capital is set to stage a strike against the appointments.

The Islamabad Bar Council, Islamabad High Court Bar Association, and Islamabad District Bar Association, in a joint meeting on Sunday will stage the strike in the district courts and the IHC on Monday (today).

According to a resolution passed in a joint session of the capital’s legal fraternity, a strike will be observed today to protest the “unconstitutional measure affecting the judiciary and the legal profession”.

“The legal fraternity of Islamabad ensures its commitment to resist the unjustified transfers and appointments of judges from other provinces to the IHC,” said the resolution.

Lawyers stated they would pursue “all legal and constitutional avenues to challenge this decision and safeguard the judicial independence of Islamabad.”

The legal fraternity further demanded that the Bar Association’s application – seeking the nullification of the 26th Constitutional Amendment – be heard by all 16 judges of the Supreme Court.

It condemned the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP’s) decision to call a meeting to appoint additional judges to the SC in February and called the action a “blatant attempt to manipulate the court’s composition, filling it with individuals favoured by the ruling parties and establishment.”

The resolution said that the move blatantly disregarded the fundamental principle of an independent judiciary, undermining the public’s trust in the legal system.

“Lawyers across the nation firmly believe that no appointments to the SC should proceed until a final decision is reached on the petitions challenging the validity of the 26th Amendment,” it claimed, calling for the postponement of the JCP meeting on February 10.

Speaking about the letter by the IHC judges, the resolution supported the stance of the senior judges, demanding that the IHC chief justice must be appointed from the senior-most judges present in the court to “ensure fairness and merit-based selections.”

The legal community strongly opposed the controversial amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), calling it a “tool for suppressing freedom of expression and curbing press freedom”.

“An All Pakistan Lawyers’ Convention will be held under the Islamabad Bar Council tomorrow, February 3, at 11am at the District Judicial Complex, G-11/4, Islamabad, to formulate future strategy,” the resolution said.