ISLAMABAD: Seven new judges of the Supreme Court and the acting chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) took oaths on Friday.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi administered the oath to the newly appointed judges at a ceremony held on the Supreme Court’s compound, with the iconic white marble building as the backdrop.

The ceremony was a deviation from past practices where the oath-taking of new judges was held inside the court’s Ceremonial Hall.

The judges who were administered the oath were justices Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Salahuddin Panhwar, Shakeel Ahmad, Aamer Farooq and Ishtiaq Ibrahim.

Justice Shah says ‘won’t accept defeat’, as rumours swirl of possible reference; new inductions take apex court strength to 25

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, who was appointed as the acting judge, was sworn in separately by the CJP.

The ceremony was attended by Supreme Court judges, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, senior lawyers, and law officers.

Justice Aminud Din Khan, who was unwell and justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, who had gone to Karachi, didn’t attend the ceremony.

With new inductions, the total strength of the Supreme Court is now 25, including two ad hoc judges — Justice Sardar Tariq Mahmood and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel.

Soon after taking the oath, the judges joined a nine-member bench headed by the CJP, which heard around 10 cases in Courtroom No 1 of the apex court.

‘Put up a fight’

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, the senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, has vowed to “put up a befitting fight” amid reports of a possible complaint by the government against two judges of the top court.

After the oath-taking ceremony on Friday, reporters asked Justice Shah about the remarks of PM’s aide Rana Sanaullah, who, without naming anyone, hinted at a possible “reference against two Supreme Court judges”.

“The conduct of two senior judges of the Supreme Court … is such that a reference can be [filed] against them,” Mr Sanaullah had said.

Justice Shah said the matter would be considered if any reference was filed. “We will not accept any defeat”.

Complaints against top court judges are filed in the Supreme Judicial Council.

Justice Shah is a member of the SJC, which is headed by the Supreme Court chief justice and includes the two senior-most judges of the apex court and chief justices of two high courts.

During the media interaction, Justice Shah observed that “Allah Almighty is with us”.

“We had done nothing wrong. Why should we be afraid of anything?” he said, adding that he had no personal grudge or difference against anyone.

In the face of serious differences among the top court judges, Justice Shah made some sarcastic remarks to make light of the situation.

The second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court said judges come to the court “only to sip tea”.

This was an apparent reference to a recent grievance by the CJP that some judges hearing corporate and tax matters were not working these days.

However, after his jibe, Justice Shah hastened to add that the Supreme Court website will tell how many reported cases he has to his credit.

When asked about the CJP’s statement that his fellow judges panic sometimes, Justice Shah laughed and said: “Look, our hands are trembling”.

Another Supreme Court judge, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, was asked whether he had seen the letter written by PTI founder Imran Khan to the CJP.

He denied receiving any letter, which the CJP said he had forwarded to the court’s Constitutional Commi­ttee, which fixes cases before judges.

Justice Mandokhail is also a member of that committee.

Imran Khan wrote to the CJP over the delay in taking up petitions filed by his party under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2025