JCP members urge CJP Bandial to fill SC vacant posts

ISLAMABAD: Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah — both Supreme Court judges — have written a letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, requesting him to call the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the appointment of judges on the Supreme Court’s vacant posts.

In a letter, the judges warned Justice Bandial that the delay in appointment may give rise to “unwanted rumours of petty politics”.

They explained that a JCP meeting should “automatically be scheduled” at the earliest in case of any vacancy in the apex court to fulfil the constitutional obligation under Article 175A(8) of the Constitution.

“JCP is not the Supreme Court of Pakistan, but an independent constitutional body, that must have a separate and an independent functional secretariat, headed by a professional secretary,” they mentioned.

The letter said that Supreme Court of Pakistan has five vacancies that have piled up since February 2022, over a period of almost nine months. “We as members of the JCP, have time and again requested you to hold a meeting of the JCP to fill these vacancies,” the judges wrote.

The inordinate delay of almost nine months, in this case, must be urgently addressed first, they noted.

The judges said that they had already suggested that the five high court chief justices should be considered for the vacant positions or consider the top two judges from each high court and then conduct a vote in the next JCP meeting.

“These were the best options for moving forward until more sophisticated selection criteria and constitutionally compliant rules could be framed,” they further explained.

Earlier, Justice Isa in his letter had urged CJP Bandial to “immediately” convene a meeting of the JCP to fill the vacant SC seats.

The positions of Supreme Court judges fell vacant after the retirement of Justice Mushir Alam, former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

It is pertinent to mention here that the JCP is responsible for approving the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and CJP heads the commission.