IHC judges' transfer not unconstitutional, rules Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has announced its verdict in the IHC judges’ transfer case, declaring that the transfer of judges is not unconstitutional, ARY News reported.

The five member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, announced the judgment in a 3-2 majority ruling.

The court remanded the issue of judges’ seniority back to the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari for further consideration.

The majority opinion was supported by Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Shahid Bilal, and Salahuddin Panhwar. However, Justices Naeem Afghan and Shakeel Ahmad dissented from the majority decision.

Yesterday, Advocate General Punjab concluded his arguments and the parties expressed to conclude their rebuttal in a short while. The Court then adjourned further hearing for tomorrow.

Advocate General Punjab Amjad Pervez, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder’s counsel Idrees Ashraf appeared before the court.

Advocate General Amjad Pervez presented a historical and constitutional background on the issue of judicial transfers and seniority. He cited the 1955 One Unit formation under the Governor General’s order, where multiple high courts were merged into a single court while retaining judges’ previous service records and determining their seniority based on appointment dates.

He further explained that after the dissolution of the One Unit in 1970, judges were reassigned to various high courts while preserving their past service. Similarly, when Sindh and Balochistan high courts were separated in 1976, judges’ seniority was again maintained during the transition.

However, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked that the present case differs significantly as no new court was created nor was any high court dissolved. He said the IHC judge transfers do not involve such fundamental institutional changes, making past precedents less directly applicable.

It’s worth mentioning here that the Ministry of Law had issued a notification in February confirming the transfer of three judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), following the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari.

According to reports, President Asif Ali Zardari approved these transfers under Article 200 of the Constitution, assigning the judges to the Islamabad High Court.

Justice Sarfraz Dogar, previously of the Lahore High Court, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court, and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Baluchistan High Court were transferred to the Islamabad High Court.