Justice Musarrat Hilali takes oath as second woman SC judge

ISLAMABAD: Justice Musarrat Hilali on Friday took oath as Supreme Court of Pakistan judge, becoming the second woman to make it to the country’s apex court, ARY News reported.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial administered the oath to Justice Hilali at a ceremony attended by other judges of the apex court, lawyers and officials.

Last month, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the elevation of Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Musarrat Hilali to the Supreme Court.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, had asked for an immediate meeting of JCP and suggested the names of chief justices of Sindh and Peshawar high courts to fill two vacancies of SC judges.

In a letter sent to all commission members, Justice Isa suggested that the vacancies should be filled immediately, and the names of the judges to be nominated should be recommended before time while considering the principle of seniority.

Who is Justice Hilali?

Born in Peshawar on August 08, 1961, Justice Hilali received a law degree from Khyber Law College, Peshawar University and enrolled as an Advocate of District Courts in 1983, as an Advocate of the High Court in 1988 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2006.

She was also the first woman Additional Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from November 2001 to March 2004 and was later appointed as the first woman chairperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environment Protection Tribunal.

She also served as the first woman Ombudsman for the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace. She was elevated to the bench as Additional Judge on March 26, 2013, and confirmed as a permanent judge of the Peshawar High Court on March 13, 2014.

On April 1, 2023, she took oath as the acting CJ of PHC.