ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the chief justice of the court is the “list master” and has the exclusive power to constitute benches and allocate cases.
In a written verdict, delivered by a four-member bench hearing an intra-judicial appeal against an earlier IHC order directing the issuance of contempt of court notices to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet, the court observed that a high court does not legally exist merely by virtue of the physical presence or status of its judges.
“[A bench is formed] only after constitution and distribution of duties by means of a list duly approved by the Chief Justice under Article 202 of the Constitution and the applicable rules of the High Court.
The order states that no judge or magistrate may self-assign, initiate, retain, transfer or otherwise assume jurisdiction over any matter except through the institutional mechanism controlled by the Chief Justice. Any attempt to do so constitutes an inadmissible presumption of jurisdiction.
The ruling held that the chief justice may consolidate identical or substantially similar motions at any time to ensure consistency, avoid conflicting judgments and promote judicial efficiency, and has no legal obligation to obtain consent from a court that has previously heard the matter.
On July 21, 2025, contempt proceedings were initiated against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and cabinet members for allegedly ignoring court instructions to provide reasons not to assist a US court in hearing the case of incarcerated neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
In a three-page order written by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, the court had ordered contempt proceedings to be initiated, impleading all members of the federal government and seeking their responses within two weeks.
Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan had noted that the government had time to respond but failed to do so, warning that inaction would result in contempt proceedings.
The federal government had already moved the Supreme Court on July 15, 2025, seeking to set aside a May 16, 2025 IHC order allowing amendments to a previously settled petition regarding Dr. Aafia Siddiqui almost a decade after it was filed.
Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan, who was scheduled to go on summer vacation from July 21, had earlier announced that he would hear the case on that date. However, the case did not appear before his court in the official docket.
He nevertheless heard the case and subsequently issued the contempt order, which also contained sharp criticism of IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and other post-26th Amendment judicial developments.
The government later filed an intra-judicial appeal against the order heard by a larger four-member bench headed by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir.
The court ruled that the July 21, 2025 contempt of court order was issued by a court that “had never legally existed under the approved list” and was therefore without jurisdiction.
Accordingly, the court recalled the order dated July 21 in Writ Petition No. 3139 of 2015 (Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui v. Federation of Pakistan, etc.), stating that the judiciary which passed the order was not legally constituted.
