ISLAMABAD: Three high court judges, including the chief justices of the Sindh and Lahore high courts, were sworn in as Supreme Court judges on Tuesday following their elevation, as notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, and LHC Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.
The oath-taking ceremony took place at the Supreme Court today.
A day earlier, the Ministry of Law and Justice had issued notifications of the appointments of these high court judges to the Supreme Court, following the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari under Article 177 of the Constitution.
With LHC Chief Justice Shahzad’s elevation, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of the LHC by President Zardari under Article 196, as stated in a notification from the law ministry. Justice Shujaat will serve as the acting Chief Justice until a permanent appointment is made.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had recommended the elevations of the chief justices of the LHC and the SHC, as well as the elevation of an LHC judge to the Supreme Court earlier this month. The decision was made during a meeting of the JCP, chaired by Chief Justice Isa, who also serves as the commission’s chairman.
According to The News, after detailed deliberations, the commission approved the elevation of Justice Shahzad by a 5-4 majority. The JCP also approved the elevation of Justice Shahid.
Out of the nine members of the commission, four—Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, and retired Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik—opposed the elevation of the LHC chief justice to the Supreme Court. However, Chief Justice Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din, Law Minister Azam Tarar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, and Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain voted in favor of Justice Shahzad’s elevation.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court’s strength had been 14 judges compared to the constitutional limit of 17, necessitating the appointment of three new judges.
These vacancies arose following the retirement of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and the resignations of Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
