Islamabad:
Judge Babar Sattar of the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) was an exception to the initiation of judicial work by the three judges recently transferred to the high court of the capital of the high provincial courts of Sindh, Punjab and Balutchistan without First take an oath as the IHC judges.
The judge also opposed the new seniority list of the JUDGs of the IHC as well as to the inclusion of the judges transferred to the administrative committee of the IHC and the departmental promotion committee, declaring all these measures in violation of the constitution and the law.
In a letter dated February 4 and addressed to the IHC chief judge, Aamer Farooq, judge Sattar said that by virtue of article 193 of the Constitution, the chief judge and each judge of a high Court should be appointed by the president in accordance with article 175a of the Constitution.
“The other possible method of appointment of a judge to a high court is by transfer in terms of article 200 of the Constitution.”
He declared that by virtue of article 194 of the Constitution, before entering into office, the chief judge of a high court should take an oath to be administered by the provincial governor while any other judge of A high court should take an oath to be administered by the chief judge.
“Likewise, no judge can assume the office of a judge and start to pay the functions and duties of the office of a judge of a high court without taking an oath as a judge of this high particular court acquired with jurisdiction in the territory which falls in the province of this high court. “
Judge Sattar noted that after their transfer to the IHC in terms of article 200 of the Constitution, the three judges did not take an oath in the form prescribed in the third appendix of the Constitution as judges of the ‘IHC “as the rest of us did”.
“Consequently, they cannot be considered as having assumed the office of the judges of the IHC and therefore cannot be dealt with as judges of the IHC for the exercise of legal duties and / or administrative functions” , he added.
Judge Sattar reminded judge Aamer Farooq that as a chief judge of the CIH, he was forced to administer the oaths to the transferred judges, in terms of article 194 of the Constitution, before being able to assume his functions as that judges of the IHC.
“Each passing day, when the transferred judges exercise powers and judicial and / or administrative functions of the office of an IHC judge, illegality will continue to be perpetuated.
Opposing the reconstruction of the IHC administrative committee, judge Sattar, who has been on leave since February 3, noted that by virtue of the judicial service rules of Islamabad, the administrative committee should include the IHC chief judge and two higher judges.
“Even if we should not keep in mind the constitutional obligation to take an oath in terms of article 194 of the Constitution and to conceive a situation where the transferred judges took oath as judges of the IHC, SOOMRO judge, who is currently in series in non -9 series from the seniority list published by you [on February 3]would still not be considered one of the two superior judges of the IHC.
“As the composition of the administration committee was prescribed by rule 2 (a) of the rules of the judicial services of Islamabad, the chief judge is put without being able to constitute a committee in violation of this rule and appoint a junior judge To serve the administration committee, “he added.
