ISLAMABAD: Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), on Friday, unanimously, recommended the name of Acting Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court Irfan Saadat Khan as a judge of the Supreme Court.

The meeting of the Commission was held, in the chair of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, and attended by four judges of the apex court, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, Attorney General for Pakistan and a representative of Pakistan Bar Council.

The meeting considered the nomination of Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Sindh, as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Currently, two posts of judges are vacant in the apex court.

According to the statement, released by the SC PRO office, all the members present in the meeting, unanimously, approved the nomination, which was also endorsed in writing by the law minister, who was abroad. The nomination of Justice Irfan Saadat Khan by the Commission will be sent to the Parliamentary Committee (Article 175A (8) and (12) of the Constitution).

The chief justice of Pakistan stated that Justice Irfan Saadat Khan meets the stipulated requirements, is knowledgeable, well experienced and versatile, has an upright character and is also the most senior judge among the chief justices and judges of all the high courts.

Justice Irfan Saadat Khan is the most senior judge among the chief justices and judges of all the high courts as he was appointed as a judge of Sindh High Court on September 25, 2009. Three junior SHC judges namely, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi have already been elevated to the Supreme Court for last six years. Now Justice Irfan Saadat will be junior to them in the SC seniority list.

The other item on the agenda of the JCP meeting was to determine the criteria for the appointment of High Court judges. The chief justice had written to the members of all the commissions and had sought their views; copies of the suggestions that were received were provided to the members, who sought time to consider the same. It was decided to extend the date for receiving of submissions till Friday, 27 October 2023, which will be considered in the next meeting of the Commission.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023