Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth Thursday challenged the elevation of three Lahore High Court (LHC) judges to the apex court, arguing that their appointments were made in violation of the principle of seniority.
The petition submitted in the Supreme Court challenging the elevation of former LHC judges Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi has been filed by senior counsel Hamid Khan on behalf of Justice Seth.
Besides the three SC judges, the petition names the federation, Judicial Commission of Pakistan and parliamentary committee on appointment of judges as respondents.
The petition, filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, states that Justice Seth was elevated to the PHC as an additional judge on August 2, 2011, and later took oath as chief justice of the PHC on June 28, 2018.
“In view of the relevant provisions of the Constitution and well-established constitutional convention/practice as well as the law laid down by the apex court in the 1996 Al-Jehad Trust and the 1998 Malik Asad Ali cases, the petitioner has a legitimate expectancy to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on the basis of his seniority, suitability and merit,” the petition argues. “But he (Justice Seth) has been ignored and superseded thrice without affording him an opportunity of being heard,” the application says, adding that the appointments of the judges from the LHC have been made in violation of the principle of seniority. According to the petition, Justices Amin, Khan and Naqvi were appointed as judges of the Supreme Court while ignoring the inter-se seniority of the chief justice of high courts as well as the importance given to the office of the chief justice of a high court under Articles 175-A and 209.
