Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, who is going to lay down his robe tomorrow (Monday) after reaching the age of superannuation declined to attend dinners of the Supreme Court and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). Public Relation Officer of Supreme Court Shahid Kamboyo has confirmed to Business Recorder that the notification for full-court reference for Justice Dost Muhammad's honour has not been issued yet.
It will be the first time that no full-court reference will be held for a retiring judge of the august court. A full-court reference was not held in the honor for Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman. He had tendered resignation after his name appeared in the Supreme Court judgement in the case of illegal appointment in Islamabad High Court.
It has been the tradition of Supreme Court that a full-court reference is held in the honour of the outgoing judge of the Supreme Court, where Chief of Pakistan, Attorney General for Pakistan, Vice-chairman Pakistan Bar Association (PBC) and President SCBA pay tribute to the retiring judge.
Dinners are arranged separately both by the apex court administration and the Supreme Court Bar Association in the honor of the outgoing judge of the apex court. The letter sent to PBC and SCBA says; "Due to unavoidable family engagement Justice Dost Muhammad has regretted to attend the dinner to be hosted by Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association."
Justice Dost Muhammad, former chief justice of Peshawar High Court, was elevated to the Supreme Court on January 31, 2014.
In the Supreme Court, Justice Dost Muhammad wrote a separate note on military courts and was also part of a bench which had disallowed hunting of houbara bustard. He did not become part of a recent order which sent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz former Senator Nehal Hashmi to jail for one month. Addressing lawyers in Peshawar last month, he urged the need for accountability of all, including judges and generals, like other citizens. Justice Dost Muhammad said he was personally in favor of trial of judges and generals like other citizens. He opined that these trials must be conducted under the accountability law like the trials of common people.
As the chief justice of PHC, he delivered several major judgments, including terming drone strikes as 'war crimes' and had ordered the government to raise the issue at the United Nations forum; a lifelong disqualification of former President Pervez Musharraf from contesting elections; declaring fuel adjustment charges illegal; taking suo motu notice of women being barred from voting and ordering missing persons be shifted to internment centers. His other achievements include introducing alternative dispute resolution system, online complaint system, and mobile courts.
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