Five judges from the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) approached the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday, contesting a series of administrative actions of the IHC chief, Sarfaraz Dogar, reported Express News.
An unprecedented development took place at the IHC, as a Mohin Akhtar Kayani judges, Babar Sattar, Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, Saman Rafat Imtiaz and Ejaz Ishaq have collectively approached SC, depositing petitions containing twelve distinct requests.
Their petitions, deposited under article 184, paragraph 3, of the Constitution, question the limits of the authority of the chief judge, including the restrictions on the judicial powers, the transfers of current affairs and the deletion of the judges of the list.
In their petitions, the judges have raised one point: “If the excessive administrative control exercised by the chief judge of the High Court of Islamabad, having an impact on the judicial results by the alignment and the fixing of the cases, is in violation of the principle of the horizontal independence of the judiciary?”
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The judges argued that no judge may be prohibited from exercising legal duties, except under article 209 of the Constitution, and their petitions require advice to the Supreme Court to find out if the exercise of the administrative powers of the chief judge may go beyond judicial functions.
“That the chief judge of the High Court is invested with any powers which allow him to constitute benches in a manner which makes the judges of the dysfunction of the High Court?”, Asked the petitioners.
They wondered if an excessive administrative control, including the fixing of cases and the management of the alignment, undermines the independence of the judges of the High Court, and if the chief judge can constitute benches in a manner which renders the judges of dysfunctional or transfer to mid-term.
The petitions also disputed the continuous use of the doctrine of the “master of the list”, previously canceled by the Supreme Court, and raised concerns concerning the legality of the administrative committees trained on February 3 and July 15, 2025.
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“Let the invocation of the doctrine of” master of the list “by the chief judge of the IHC, already canceled by the Supreme Court, authorized under the law?”, Asked the petitions at the Supreme Court.
The judges argued that the powers under article 202 to promulgate rules should be exercised collectively by the High Court, rather than only by the chief judge, and wondered if the transformation of the college into a regimented administrative structure violates the constitutional principles.
They also pointed out that the late publication and approval of the High Court of Islamabad practice and procedure rules, 2025, can be illegal and have raised doubts about the failure of the High Court to establish rules for the operating power of the district power in Islamabad, as required by article 203.
In addition, the judges asked for clarity on the question of whether the IHC can issue it to him under article 199, and if the strict of a high court undergoes judicial functions contravenes the previous ones of the Supreme Court, including the historical affairs of the former CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry against the Pakistan Federation Pakistan 2010) and Malik Asad Ali vs vs Federation of Pakistan.
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Petitions also require the cancellation of notifications from the administrative committee issued in February and July and declare the last rules of the Illegal CIH. They argue that the high court cannot deliver Writs against itself under article 199. While they left the Supreme Court, judge Mohin Akhtar Kayani told journalists that all cases allocated to fixed benches had been heard.
The reports suggest that judge Jahangiri can personally represent his case. His petition was awarded the newspaper of the newspaper 23409. J. Judge Jahangiri was suspended from judicial work by the IHC on September 16 for an alleged false degree case. The suspension will remain in force until the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) pronounces its verdict.
The petitions were deposited in the midst of unprecedented development at the IHC, which sent shock waves through the legal fraternity. Judge Jahangiri has been excluded from the judicial list for the next three days, following the court’s decision to prevent him from exercising legal duties until the SJC is complained of these allegations.
