The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought federal government's stance on the issue of seniority of Lahore High Court judges. A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani heard a constitutional petition regarding the seniority of Lahore High Court judges. The court issued a notice to the Attorney General Sulman Aslam Butt to assist the bench on the matter.
During the course of proceedings, the counsel for the petitioner pleaded that LHC judges' seniority should be considered from the date of their regularisation instead of the time of their appointment as additional sessions judge. He further apprised the bench that after the 19th Amendment, 14 out of 34 judges had been given extensions in their service so this factor should also be taken into consideration.
If seniority is considered from the date of their regularisation then Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan should have been the most senior judge of the high court instead of Justice Khawaja Imtiaz, he added. Later, the court issued a notice to the AG to inform the court regarding government stance in this regard and adjourned the case till the first week of May.