LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued transfer and posting orders of 366 judicial officers in Punjab in a single day.

Meanwhile, a petition urged the Supreme Court to ban the transfer of the judges in the district judiciary of all the provinces until formulation of a transparent policy and rules.

LHC Registrar Abdul Rashid Abid issued three notifications regarding the transfer/posting of 191 additional district and sessions judges, four senior civil judges and 171 civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates of Punjab.

These are first big scale transfers/postings of the judicial officers since Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan took oath of office in March.

First massive reshuffle since new CJ took oath; SC moved for ban on transfers until transparent policy

All the judicial officers have been instructed to assume charge of their new postings by May 3.

The petition filed before the SC complains that the chief justices of the provincial high courts in the country have made the judicial officers of their respective provinces a rolling stone.

“Whenever a new chief justice assumes the office, a massive transfer and posting is made in the district judiciary of his province without any reason,” says Advocate Mian Dawood, the petitioner.

He contends that the chief justices of the high courts exercise their discretion to issue transfer/posting orders of the judicial officers as no proper rules and regulations have been made to ensure transparency in the affairs.

The lawyer argues that the wholesale transfers of the judges and that too without any valid reason cause a delay in disposal of the cases and also affect personal life of the judges, especially the women judges.

He states that the huge and frequent transfers/postings in the district judiciary also impact the public exchequer as a ‘transfer grant’ is paid to the judge and his staff at the time of their transfer.

The petitioner asks the apex court to make a policy to regulate the transfer and posting in the district judiciary in all provinces. He also seeks a ban on the transfer/posting till a regulatory policy is made.

PETITION: A writ petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court seeking a direction for the Punjab government to buy wheat from the farmers of the province.

Petitioner Farhat Manzoor Chandio, a lawyer, states that the provincial government announced wheat procurement policy 2024 and fixed support price at Rs3,900 per 40kg.

He argues that the government is bound to buy wheat from the farmers at the fixed support price. He says the government was supposed to start buying wheat from the farmers on April 22, however, it failed to do so.

The lawyer pleads that the delay in official buying and heavy rains in the province have forced the farmers to sell their wheat at lower prices to the ‘mafia’.

He argues that the government has been committing violation of fundamental rights of the farmers by not starting the wheat purchase on time.

He asked the court to order the government to begin wheat buying at the fixed support price from the farmers in the province.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024