KARACHI: Lawyers observed a black day and boycotted proceedings at the Sindh High Court and subordinate courts in the metropolis in protest against proposed elevation of a “junior” judge of the Sindh High Court, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, to the Supreme Court.

The Pakistan Bar Council had given a call for the protest ahead of a meeting of the National Judicial Commission to deliberate upon election of Justice Mazhar to the apex court.

Hundreds of cases fixed for the day were adjourned as the lawyers stayed away from the courts and held a joint general body meeting of the SHC Bar Association and the Karachi Bar Association.

The lawyers had closed the gates of the SHC, the City Courts and the Malir District Courts to stop their colleagues as well as litigants and undertrial prisoners from attending their cases’ hearings, subjecting them to great hardships.

The joint general body meeting unanimously passed a resolution, stating that the SHCBA strongly condemned the proposal to elevate a junior judge of the SHC to the apex court and considered that the seniority principle as defined in the Al-Jihad and Malik Asad Ali judgments be strictly followed until such time as the Judicial Commission structured its discretion by framing transparent and objective criteria for appointments to the apex court.

The association resolved to vigorously protest and challenge on every forum any out-of-turn-promotions that might be made to the apex court.

SHCBA president Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed said on the occasion that they were observing the black day because the judiciary had once again been “assaulted”. The elevation of a junior judge had caused heartburn among those who had a service length spanning over two decades.

He said that Balochistan too faced an identical issue as no judges had been elevated to the apex court from the Balochistan High Court. “The bar associations all over the country demand that the principle of seniority be considered in the elevation of the high court judges to the apex court.

“When no out-of-turn promotions are allowed in other institutions the same principle should be implemented in the institution of the judiciary,” added Barrister Ahmed.

He said that no lawyers had ever been directly appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court and questioned the criteria the NJC laid down for the elevation of judges to the apex court.

He demanded a transparent mechanism inclusive of all stakeholders should be adopted for the judges’ elevation to the SC.

Karachi Bar Association’s general secretary Amir Warraich called upon lawyers not to appear before courts in protest. They were protesting out-of-turn elevation of a junior judge of the SHC, who was on number five in the seniority list, to the SC, he said.

Our Larkana correspondent adds: Lawyers boycotted court proceedings in SHC bench Larkana and lower courts in response to Pakistan Bar Council and Sindh Bar Council’s call for protest against elevation of a junior judge to the Supreme Court.

Larkana HCBA general secretary Sajid Hussain Mahesar said in a press statement that Pakistan Judicial Council was acting in contravention of superior judiciary’s decisions on out-of-turn promotions.

He said the lawyers had right to object to the move and oppose it on all forums. The commission’s decisions in this context should be both reasonable and acceptable, he said.

He said that bar associations and lawyers had always played their role for independent judiciary, supremacy of law and Constitution, justice and democracy and stood against unconstitutional steps.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2021