Islamabad High Court Judges Challenge Seniority List, File Petition in Supreme Court

Islamabad: Five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) have filed a petition in the Supreme Court regarding the seniority dispute, seeking to halt Justice Doger from performing duties as the acting Chief Justice of the IHC. The petition, filed through their lawyers, argues that the current seniority list of the IHC should be declared null and void.

Five S IHC justices, Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, together with Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq, and Saman Rifat Imtiaz, frame a petition at the Supreme Court declaring the transfer of judges to the IHC served private purposes instead of delivering public benefit. According to their submission, both actions damage Article 175-A of the Constitution, and the President behaved outside of Judicial Commission authority under Article 200(1).

The petition holds responsible the President of Pakistan together with the federal government and the Judicial Commission. According to the judges, the present transfer decisions violate judicial independence and procedural fairness, while temporary transfers can take place without damaging seniority lists.

The legal challenge illustrates active judicial friction about seniority methods and transfer procedures, which brought doubts about judicial appointment transparency and ethical procedures in Pakistan.