PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday summoned the federal law secretary over a contempt petition against the non-issuance of a notification for the appointment of three judicial officers as additional judges to it.

The secretary was asked by a bench consisting of Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan to appear before it to explain why its earlier order on the matter had not been implemented.

The court later adjourned hearing into lawyer Naeem Ahmad Khattak’s petition until June 28.

The high court had accepted on May 10 three petitions challenging the decision of a parliamentary committee of not confirming the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan for the elevation of three district and sessions judges as the high court’s additional judges.

Lawyer had challenged delay in appointment of additional judges

While setting aside the impugned decision of the parliamentary committee of Jan 19, 2022, the court had ordered the federal government through the federal law secretary to immediately implement the recommendations of the Judicial Commission (JC) of Jan 5, 2022, by notifying the appointment of district judges Fazal Subhan, Shahid Khan and Khurshid Iqbal as additional judges.

Advocate Ali Azim Afridi appeared for the petitioner and said the decision of the parliamentary committee was challenged through two petitions by the three aggrieved district judges and one by his client.

He said the high court had six vacancies of judges for which the chief justice, after consulting other judges and scrutinising the credentials of numerous candidates, recommended the names of the three district judges and three lawyers, including Kamran Hayat Miankhel, Mohammad Ijaz Khan and Mohammad Faheem Wali, for appointment as additional judges for a period of one year.

The counsel said the JCP, in its meeting on Jan 5, 2022, re-examined those nominations and recommended those six names, including those of the three petitioners, for appointment as additional judges by a majority vote of 10 to 2 with one member abstaining.

He, however, contended that on Jan 19, the parliamentary committee did not confirm the appointment of the three judicial officers in light of the ‘principle of seniority’ and that their names were sent back to the JCP for reconsideration.

The counsel added that acting upon the decision of the parliamentary committee, the federal government didn’t send the names of three judicial officers to the president for notification of their appointment, whereas names of the remaining three recommended persons were notified as additional judges of the high court.

He said in the earlier three petitions, the petitioners had prayed the high court to declare unconstitutional, illegal and without lawful authority the impugned decision of the parliamentary committee.

The lawyer contended that a high court bench had accepted those three petitions but the government didn’t implement that judgement.

He added that the respondents, including the federal law secretary, were bent on disobeying the orders of this court.

Ali Azim contended that the non-implementation of those orders on part of the respondents was a disservice to those believing in constitutionality and rule of law, and as such amounted to thwarting administration of justice.

He requested the court to proceed against the respondents for committing contempt of court by disregarding its judgment.

The lawyer said the respondents might be summoned, proceeded against, and punished in accordance with law.

The respondents in the petition are secretary of the law ministry Raja Naeem Akbar, secretary of the Senate Mohammad Qasim, secretary to the country’s president Waqar Ahmad and principal secretary to the prime minister Syed Tauqeer Shah.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2022