President, Prime Minister has no right to oppose judges appointment: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has said that president or the prime minister under the 18^th amendment has no right to oppose judges’ appointment.

A five-member bench of the apex court resumed hearing of the presidential reference Wednesday.

During course of arguments, President’s counsel Advocate Waseem Sajjad requested the bench to summon the provincial advocate generals, president of Supreme Court Bar Association to assist in the case.

Justice Gulzar said President can only seek suggestion and Supreme Court can only give its opinion. Advocate Waseem Sajjad argued that president has decided to seek court’s advice only after he felt ambiguity in the matter.

The bench queried whether the president wants the court to review its earlier decision? President’s counsel replied, if need be, the apex court can make an amendment if it finds error in the decision.

Also during the hearing, Sajjad said the chief justice of the IHC had declared Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan, a member of the Judicial Commission (JC), as a senior judge.

Responding to which, Justice Hussain said at the time of the commission’s meeting, Justice Khan was abroad. Sajjad said no other judge could be summoned to fill the seat of a senior judge in case of his or her absence. The case hearing has been adjourned till December 13.

The controversy was over the composition of the 11-member Judicial Commission (JC) in which Justice Kasi, one of the judges whose nomination had been finalised by the JC as the IHC’s next chief justice, himself sat in place of senior judge Justice Khan who was in Saudi Arabia for Haj when the commission had met at the time.

The two judges — Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Kasi — were nominated by the JC and approved by the Parliamentary Committee (PC) under Article 175-A, inserted in the Constitution under the 18th and 19th Amendments. The JC, in a separate meeting, had also recommended elevation of IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman to the Supreme Court.

But the President House had returned both the recommendations to the JC with an observation to reconsider the nominations because the commission which had finalised the names had not been constituted properly.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=36096

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Dec 12 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.