ISLAMABAD: The two members of Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz, have written to IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, questioning judicial anomalies ahead of a full court meeting of the IHC.
IHC Chief Justice Dogar, on Tuesday, summoned a full court meeting at the start of the new judicial year, scheduled for today (Wednesday). All judges of the IHC have been informed of the meeting and instructed to attend.
With the full court set to meet at 2pm, the two IHC judges sought additional points to be included in the meeting’s agenda, while highlighting concerns over case allocation, administrative decisions, and transparency within the court.
The four-page letter by Justice Sattar, a copy of which is available to Geo.tv, questions whether the judges of the IHC today believe that they were fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities and whether citizens consider them protectors of fundamental rights.
“Has the IHC made efforts to establish the district judiciary as an independent institution? There is a lack of transparency in preparing rosters and fixing cases. We tell officers daily in our decisions that they are neither kings nor are their powers without limits,” the letter reads.
The judges express concern that senior judges are being ignored while additional judges are assigned cases. “In exercising administrative powers, should judges and the chief justice not remember that they are not kings but public officials?” he asks.
The letter also criticises the refusal of the office to issue cause lists in some cases, noting that this is affecting the independence of the judiciary.
Highlighting instances where rosters have deprived him and other judges of single benches and observes that senior judges have been excluded from the administrative committee in violation of rules, while additional and transfer judges have been included.
Another concern raised is the mandatory requirement for judges to obtain no-objection certificates (NOCs) for travelling abroad.
“It takes decades to build institutions, but it takes no time to destroy them,” the letter stated.
Meanwhile, the letter written by Justice Ejaz surfaced just hours ahead of the IHC full court meeting. In the letter, Justice Ejaz urged that additional points be added to the agenda of the meeting.
He noted that the Gazette notification of the Practice and Procedure Rules had already been issued, but rules were circulated to judges for their feedback only a day and a half before the meeting. He wrote that judges should have been given a presentation regarding the adoption of Lahore High Court rules.
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