ISLAMABAD: Five judges of the Islamabad High Court have submitted an intra-court appeal (ICA) challenging a recent Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutional validity of transferring judges from other high courts.
The appeal was jointly filed by Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Saman Riffat Imtiaz.
Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) were transferred to the IHC in February this year.
They moved the apex court more than a week after a five-member bench — with a 3-2 majority — dismissed their original petition filed against the transfer of judges from three high courts to the IHC.
In its June 19 judgement, the Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar-led Constitutional Bench also declared that Justice Dogar could continue as the acting IHC chief justice.
The five judges, in their petition, urged that the Constitutional Bench’s order should be “recalled and set-aside […] in the interest of justice”.
“During the pendency of the instant appeal, this Hon’ble Court may graciously grant interim relief as prayed for in the accompanying interim relief application. Any other relief that this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper may also be granted,” the plea mentioned.
In their previous petition, the judges had urged the apex court to declare that the president does not have unfettered and unbridled discretion to transfer judges from one high court to another without a manifest public interest.
Their petition also requested the Supreme Court to declare that, as per settled law, a judge’s seniority should be based on the date they took oath as a justice of the IHC — placing them below the petitioners in the seniority list.
