Former IHC Bar presidents plead for new oath from transferred judges'

ISLAMABAD: Four former presidents of Islamabad High Court Bar have filed a petition in Supreme Court pleading for the seniority of the transferred judges to begin with new oath, ARY News reported on Thursday.

A petition of Riasat Ali Azad, Arif Chaudhry, Shoaib Shaheen and Zahid Mehmood Raja has been filed by Faisal Siddiqui advocate in the apex court.

They also pleaded to declare the decision of changing seniority and notification of appointing Justice Sarfaraz Dogar as the acting chief justice as null and void.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court Bar had moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan, challenging the judges’ seniority list.

Then president of the IHC Bar Riasat Ali Azad filed petition under Article 184(3). “The President is not enjoying unlimited powers to transfer judges’ under Article 200 clause (i),” according to the petition.

Petitioner also argued that the judges could not be transferred from one high court to other without public interest.

The Lahore Bar Association also filed a petition in the SC, challenging transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The association requested the court to declare the notification of judges’ transfer as null and void.

The association also asked the apex court to reissue the seniority list of the Islamabad High Court and restrain the transferred judges from working until they take oath.

Furthermore, the Lahore Bar also pleaded that the seniority of the transferred judges be counted from the date they take oath.