Five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) have filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq regarding a seniority dispute and questioning the presidential powers over judicial transfers.
The petition, filed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Ijaz Ishaq, and Justice Saman Riffat, seeks to nullify the transfer notification and seniority list, arguing that the president does not have unlimited powers to transfer judges under Article 200 of the Constitution.
The petitioners contend that these powers must be interpreted in conjunction with Article 175A, which outlines the judicial appointment process.
The petition also calls for an immediate injunction to stop acting Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and two other transferred judges from performing any judicial or administrative functions. The judges argue that transferring high court judges without a valid public interest justification is unconstitutional and could cause “irreparable loss” to the judiciary’s integrity.
Furthermore, they claim that the seniority list considered during the February 10 Judicial Commission meeting was inaccurate and should be corrected. The Supreme Court has been urged to direct the registrar of the Islamabad High Court to reissue the seniority list.
The petition, filed through Munir A. Malik and Barrister Salahuddin, asserts that the appointment of Justice Sarfaraz Dogar as acting chief justice is unlawful and that the transferred judges should not be recognized as high court judges until they take a fresh oath.
A separate application for an injunction has also been submitted, demanding that the transferred judges be immediately restrained from assuming any judicial duties.
