ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Justice (Retired) Shaukat Siddiqui has said that this is the Islamabad High Court, not a Federal High Court, and his stance is that judges should be appointed from within Islamabad.
While addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Justice (R) Shaukat Siddiqui stated that out of the six benches of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), five have now been connected via video link, allowing lawyers to present their arguments from their respective cities.
He said that the money saved in terms of TA/DA (Travel and Daily Allowance), which amounts to hundreds of thousands of rupees, will now be spent on employees. Currently, only the Peshawar bench has not yet been connected to the video link system.
Justice (R) Shaukat Siddiqui shared that the current building of the Islamabad High Court was acquired in 2012. At the time, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry met with the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court and other judges. The then Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman, mentioned that the CDA would show them various potential sites.
He said that Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the Islamabad High Court's Chief Justice that “you won’t be able to manage this task,” and advised forming a committee and assigning the responsibility to Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui. He personally called the CDA Chairman and asked him to show the proposed locations for the High Court.
Justice Siddiqui said that he brought the High Court to its current location and asked for details about the plot. He instructed the CDA Chairman to discuss it in the board meeting and provide complete documentation. “My sixth sense told me that this plot is so prime that surely others would have their eyes on it.”
He said he wanted everything to be officially documented. Regarding the design of the building, a competition was held in which hundreds of architects participated. The contract for the project was later changed, and he added, “There’s a story behind that change, but I won’t go into it here.”
Justice Siddiqui further stated that they had envisioned a bright and well-ventilated environment for the building, but unfortunately, that could not be achieved in practice. The building was originally scheduled for completion in November 2015, but due to the change in contract, it was informed that the project would now be delayed by five years.