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Judges notification can’t be issued before JC’s completion: AGISLAMABAD: Attorney General Irfan Qadir said on Wednesday that the notification of confirming the Islamabad High Court judges cannot be issued until the Judicial Commission is not complete, Geo News reported.
While talking to the media here today, Irfan Qadir said that the former judicial commission was incomplete and did not include any senior judge from the Islamabad High Court, therefore, its appointment of IHC judges was also inappropriate.
According to him, the Parliamentary Committee’s approval of the recommendations by the Judicial Commission was also unconstitutional. He further said that following the constitution will not lead to crisis situation.
The Attorney General refuted the rumor of getting scolded by Justice Saeed Khosa.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the president had no option but to issue a notification for the appointment of IHC judges.
A four-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Ijaz Afzal and Justice Ijaz Chaudhry, heard a constitutional petition of Advocate Nadeem Ahmed filed against the federal government for not issuing the notification of confirmation of IHC chief justice and two judges of the same court despite completion of all constitutional formalities.
Declaring the petition as maintainable, the Supreme Court directed the Attorney General of Pakistan to seek instructions from the government and inform it by November 22.
The petitioner had contended in the petition that IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and judges, Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, were confirmed on their respective positions by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) and Parliamentary Committee for the Appointment of Judges but the government was deliberately delaying the notification for the confirmation of these judges.
Appearing on notice, Muhammad Akram Shaikh, the counsel for the petitioner, submitted that after the 18th and 19th constitutional amendments, the president had no authority to stop the notifications recommended by the JCP and the parliamentary committee on appointment of judges.
At this, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa inquired as to whether the apex court was being asked to assume the president’s role. He questioned as to how the court could do it and issue direction for issuance of the notification.During the hearing, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa remarked that in Article 175 (A), there was no mention that the president could return the nomination of any judge.
Justice Ijaz Afzal said that the president had no option but to issue a notification for the appointment of a judge. During the hearing, Attorney General Irfan Qadir raised an objection over the maintainability of the plea and contended it appeared to be a manufactured plea with blessings of some high judicial personalities.
He said Article 184 (3) required that a person seeking relief under the same provision should come up with clean hands.To the court’s query, he, however, contended that the names of IHC judges were recommended by the Judicial Commission. He said that the Constitution was the only impediment in issuance of the notification, adding that he was very much clear about the constitutional provisions, and the state functionaries, including the president, could disregard any unconstitutional direction given by the Supreme Court.
Courtesy www.geo.tv