The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), in a meeting chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, approved the transfer of three Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges to other high courts. According to a statement released by the top judicial body on Tuesday, the commission approved the transfer of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani from IHC to the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Babar Sattar to the Peshawar High Court (PHC), and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz to the Sindh High Court (SHC), with a majority vote. “The meetings were convened by the secretary of the JCP in exercise of powers conferred by clause (22) of Article 175A of the Constitution, as the chairman of the Commission, while giving reason therefor, declined to convene the meeting on the requisition by one-third of the total members,” it said. The proposal originated from IHC Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, who sought a JCP meeting to deliberate on the matter. The proposal also triggered debate within judicial circles as CJP Afridi last week rejected a request by the IHC chief justice to convene a meeting on the transfer of judges, citing constitutional and institutional concerns. In a written response to the IHC chief justice, CJP Afridi said that calling a commission meeting for a specific purpose was not possible. The top judge observed that transferring judges without clear justification would be “tantamount to punishment” and warned that such moves could undermine judicial independence and autonomy. He stressed that the Constitution provided a clear mechanism under Article 209 for action against judges, and any administrative transfers would be inconsistent with constitutional provisions. The JCP, in the statement released today, said that members who had requisitioned the meetings for the proposed transfer of Justice Arbab M. Tahir from IHC to Balochistan High Court (BHC), and of Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from IHC to SHC, withdrew the respective proposals. “The commission further decided, by a majority of its total membership, that any vacancy arising as a result of the transfer of a Judge from a high court shall be filled through transfer only, and such vacancy shall not, in any manner, be treated as a vacancy for initial appointment,” the handout said.
Judicial Commission of Pakistan approves transfer of 3 IHC judges
