Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Tuesday declared that he would not draw his salary unless the Public Works Department (PWD) employees are paid their salaries. The Chief Justice made the announcement while hearing a case pertaining to the non-payment of wages to workers of PWD. He observed that a trend of not paying employees on the first of every month has been set which is not acceptable.
He stated that his salary should not be deposited in his bank account till the workers confirm their dues have been cleared. Addressing the additional registrar, CJP said it was an 'order'.
BLIND JUDGE ISSUE
The Chief Justice also took suo motu notice of an appeal filed by visually impaired lawyer Yousuf Saleem, and directed Lahore High Court (LHC) to look into rejection of his candidature for the post of civil judge.
The advocate filed a petition challenging the high court selection committee's decision to turn him down for the post of a civil judge despite successfully clearing competitive examination.
Taking notice of the appeal, Justice Nisar directed the selection committee to conduct a fresh interview with the candidate. He observed that a person can hold the post of a judge even if he is blind, provided he meets all the other qualifications.
"It appears that in this case his fundamental rights under Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution, the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ratified by Pakistan in year 2011, the 3% quota under the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981, and the jurisprudence developed by the Lahore High Court in PLD 2017 Lahore 406 and PLD 2017 Lahore 1 were not considered by the Lahore High Court," said the statement issued by the SC.
The Chief Justice referred the matter to the LHC chief justice and the relevant committee of the high court for reconsideration of the named candidate and to give a speaking opinion.
The 25-year-old lawyer is a gold medalist from the University of the Punjab in LLB (Honors) Program in the year 2014 and he topped the written examination of the Civil Judges conducted by the Lahore High Court in the year 2017 amongst 6,500 candidates. However, he was not selected in the interview on the ground that he had a different ability ie "blindness".