KARACHI, Dec 24: The reported federal law ministry notification seeking to restore the seniority of a high court judge relieved under the 1996 Supreme Court judgment is illegal and unconstitutional, Sindh High Court Bar Association President Rasheed A. Razvi said on Wednesday.

Talking to Dawn, he said Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, who was made an additional judge in December 2007 under Article 197 of the Constitution, should first have been ‘appointed’ a permanent judge of the high court under Article 193 on expiry of his tenure. Strangely enough, he was ‘reappointed’ on the expiry of his term as an additional judge.

A subsequent notification restored his seniority from the date of his original appointment. He had thus been treated as a high court judge while working as a district and sessions judge. He was entitled to pension as a high court judge without restoration from the date of his ‘original appointment’, he said.

Justice Agha Rafiq, the SHCBA president recalled, was first appointed an additional SHC judge in April 1995. All additional judges were sworn in ‘permanent’ judges a few days before the announcement of the SC verdict in Al Jehad Trust case in 1996. However, the Supreme Court ordered reconsideration of all the appointments by a permanent chief justice.

Justice Mamoon Kazi took over as permanent CJ from Justice Abdul Hafeez Memon, who was a Supreme Court judge but was also officiating as CJ. Four of the additional judges, namely Justices Rana Bhagwandas, Hamid Ali Mirza, Abdul Hameed Dogar and he himself, were retained, said Mr Razvi. Additional judges Agha Rafiq, Agha Saifuddin, Abdul Majeed Khanzada, Abdul Latif Qureshi, Ghulam Haider Lakho and Shahnawaz Awan ceased to be judges under the SC verdict after reprocessing of their appointment by the permanent CJ, he said.

The Dec 15 notification also violated the norms of natural justice as ‘nobody could be a judge in his own cause’, he said, pointing out that Justice Rafiq was currently serving as the secretary of the ministry that issued the notification.

About his stint as an SHC judge, Mr Razvi said he was relieved on his refusal to take a fresh oath under a provisional constitution order in 2000 after serving on the bench for four years and 10 months.