Lawyers to boycott court proceedings on Tuesday

KARACHI: Three lawyer bodies of Sindh have given a call for boycotting court proceedings across the province on Tuesday against proposed appointment of chief justice of Sindh Ahmed Ali M Shaikh as an ad hoc judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference after joint sitting of Sindh Bar Council (SBC), Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and Karachi Bar Association (KBA), the lawyers’ leaders said lawyers will not appear in courts on Tuesday when Judicial Commission will be meeting in Islamabad. The lawyers’ leaders hoped that Pakistan Bar Council and other bar associations of the country would support them in what they called in their struggle for appointment and elevation of judges on principle of seniority.

SBC vice chairman Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, SHCBA president Salahuddin Ahmed and KBA president Naeem Qureshi said principle of seniority was not being followed in judicial appointments and elevation of high courts judges to Supreme Court.

“This time around threat to independence of judiciary is coming from within the judiciary whose certain members are not ready to limit and control their discretion,” said Salahuddin Ahmed.

He said it seemed Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had not evolved a criterion for appointment and elevation of judges to Supreme Court. “Sometimes the JCP prefer seniority, sometimes competence and sometimes command of a judge on certain nature of cases,” he pointed out saying it was creating rift within the judiciary and among the judges as witnessed during the hearing of some high-profile cases in Supreme Court in recent past.

SBC vice chairman Zia ul Hassan Lanjar said excuse was being made that in the past senior judges in high courts themselves recommended elevation of junior judges. However, he said, it had now become clear that no such consent was given by the senior judges for the elevation of junior judges.

A press release issued after the joint meeting of the three lawyers bodies stated Article 182 of the Constitution did not even allow appointment of a chief justice as an ad hoc judge of Supreme Court and only permitted a retired judge of Supreme Court or judge of a high court to be appointed.

The press release pointed out that even if a Chief Justice was conceived to be a judge of a high court, then the consent of Chief Justice of the province was required for appointment of judge under Article 182(b) of the Constitution.

“If a Chief Justice is appointed as an ad hoc judge against his will it shall set a terrible constitutional precedent an permanently destroy the independence of the high court,” read the press release.

It added that a needless crisis was being created mere because of the JCP’s insistence on not following the principle of seniority.