ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commis­sion of Pakistan (JCP) is expected to meet on July 5 to consider the elevation of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, the Balochistan High Court’s Chief Justice, and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar of the Sindh High Court to fill the vacant offices of judges in the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed will preside over the meeting.

The two offices fell vacant after Justice Faisal Arab reached superannuation on Nov 4 last year and Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik on April 30 this year. With the appointment of two judges, the Supreme Court will reach its stipulated strength of 17 judges.

An informed source told Dawn that Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar is the fifth most senior judge in the SHC and being tipped to be elevated as a Supreme Court judge by superseding Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh, Justice Irfaan Saadat Khan, Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Hassan Azhar Mirza.

The elevation to the Supreme Court under Article 175-A of the Constitution is always done after weighing the overall antecedents, reputation and expertise in deciding matters, integrity as well as conduct as judge of the high courts.

But this is not the first time that a junior judge from the Sindh High Court has been chosen for appointment in the Supreme Court. In April 2018, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, who was fourth in the SHC’s seniority list, was elevated by following a precedent when two judges of the Lahore High Court who went on to become the Chief Justice of Pakistan — Justice Saqib Nisar and Justice Asif Saeed Khosa — were elevated to the apex court by ignoring then Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Khawaja Sharif.

The apex court, through a judgement in the Faqir Khokhar case in 2002, had held that since elevation to the Supreme Court was always considered a fresh appointment, even a junior judge from a high court can be elevated to become a judge of the highest court.

If elevated to the apex court, BHC Chief Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel is expected to reach superannuation in November 2024 and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar will retire in October 2029.

A source confided to Dawn that for the first time in the country’s judicial history a Baloch was being considered for elevation to the apex court.

Legal observers believe that the judicial commission needed to frame some criteria for elevating high court judges that should consider not only seniority but also factors like how many judgements by a judge were upheld or reversed by the Supreme Court.

Bar Council’s representation

Since the two-year term of Akhtar Hussain, who represents the Pakistan Bar Council in the Judicial Commission, expired last month, it is expected that the PBC would call a meeting soon to nominate another member to represent it in the JCP.

Akhtar Hussain led a delegation which called on Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed on Thursday. Others in the delegation included provincial representatives namely Qazi Rafiuddin Babar from the Islamabad Bar Council, Razaq Mehr from the Sindh Bar Council, Chaudhry Ghulam Sarwar Nehang of the Punjab Bar Council, Qasim Ali Gajizal, vice chairman of the Balochistan Bar Council, and Farooq Khattak from the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council.

The delegation expressed concern about the criteria for elevation of judges adopted by amending the 2010 rules governing the Judicial Commission. It suggested that consultations with the provincial bar councils be made a part of the process.

In addition to the chief justices of high courts, the delegation further suggested, representatives of the bar be given the right to recommend a name for appointment as judge of the Supreme Court.

Another suggestion was that a vacancy in the superior judiciary be filled within two months instead of an endless wait lasting several months.

The source, however, observed that the present CJP had opened up the consultative process to such an extent that discussions take place in a frank and congenial atmosphere where every participant was free to give his opinion before finalisation of the nominations.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021