Subordinate judiciary: SC directs SHC Registrar to submit record of appointments

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed the Registrar Sindh High Court (SHC) to submit the record of appointments in the Sindh subordinate judiciary.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, on Friday, heard a petition regarding appointment of judges in Sindh civil and district courts.

The registrar SHC has been asked to compile appointments’ record, which contain information about how many persons were recruited since 2017 and on whose orders and under what law the recruitments were made and submit them on the next date.

The court also constituted a committee for examining the recruitments of judges in civil and district courts of the province.

Justice Bandial observed that prima facie the appointments were made without test and interview and also no advertisement was given. He said no reason was given to relax the rules pertaining to domicile.

Justice Ijaz said that it seemed that the rules were violated in the appointments in the lower judiciary of the province.

He inquired from the petitioner’s counsel that what action the advisory committee of the SHC took action on these appointments.

The registrar SHC informed that the same procedure has been adopted for recruitments in the lower judiciary since 2000.

Munir A Malik, representing the registrar, said that the court has to examine whether the past practices were followed or not.

The case was adjourned until January 2022.

Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi has filed a petition through advocate Khawaja Shamsul Islam under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

He has requested the apex court to declare the appointment of judges and other staff in the SHC as well as civil and additional district judges in the subordinate judiciary from 2017 till date as illegal, mala fide, unlawful, ultra vires, unconstitutional and null and void, having no legal effect.

Chief justice and registrar SHC and the provincial law ministry and the federal government have been made respondents.

The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to order for the constitution of an investigation commission consisting of senior judges of the apex court as well as the senior-most judges of the SHC to scrutinise the record of appointments made in the high court and the district judiciary of Sindh since 2017.

The petitioner believed that all such appointments were made in flagrant violations of the rules and regulations applicable in such employment.

The petitioner believes all such recruitments since 2017 were made in violation of rules.

The Supreme Court should also order the SHC registrar as well as the Sindh Law Ministry to produce the entire record of the appointments made in the high court and the lower judiciary from 2017 till date, the petitioner argued.

Similarly, it said, the apex court should also order the registrar and chief justice of the SHC and the provincial Law Ministry to de-notify the appointments made in the high court and the lower judiciary after 2017 and direct initiation of an inquiry against the respondents and all judges of Sindh since their appointments were made in violation of the relevant rules and regulations.

The apex court also pleaded to issue a restraining order against the respondents from making any further appointments in the SHC as well as in the district courts till a decision on the petition.

The petition is reminiscent of a September 26, 2016 Supreme Court verdict in which all recruitments, appointments, deputation, absorption and reappointments in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from 2011 to the end of 2012 were de-notified.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021