Five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, seeking to bar Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar from acting as IHC chief justice.
After recent judge transfers, the IHC judges’ petition follows a controversial shakeup in the court’s seniority list.
The issue began on February 1, when the Ministry of Law and Justice transferred three judges to the IHC. Justice Dogar came from the Lahore High Court, Justice Soomro from the Sindh High Court, and Justice Asif from the Balochistan High Court. These moves altered the IHC seniority list, sparking unrest. The five judges—Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz—argue that transferred judges must take a new oath, affecting their seniority per the Constitution.
The IHC judges’ petition, filed under Article 184(3), names multiple respondents, including the president, law secretary, and the transferred judges. This article allows the SC to address matters of public importance tied to fundamental rights. The petition asks the SC to stop Justice Dogar from performing his duties as acting chief justice and block Justices Soomro and Asif from judicial and administrative roles at the IHC.
Read: Justice Sarfraz Dogar Assumes Role as Acting Chief Justice of IHC
The judges claim the transfers violate judicial independence. They argue that under Article 200(1), the president’s power to transfer judges isn’t absolute. Instead, it must align with the public interest and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s authority under Article 175A. They also call the transfer notification “unconstitutional” for lacking clear justification. Additionally, they insist the transferred judges aren’t IHC justices until they take new oaths per Article 194.
The IHC judge’s petition could reshape court dynamics. The SC’s ruling will clarify transfer rules and seniority. Until then, tensions persist, with the five judges skipping Justice Dogar’s oath-taking ceremony.
