Summary IHC reserves its ruling on whether a petition over the delay in judicial appointments is maintainable.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a petition challenging the delay in approving the appointment and confirmation of judges to various high courts.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the petition filed by advocate Luqman Zafar Chaudhary through his counsel, Zahid Asif Chaudhry.
The petitioner requested the court to direct President Asif Ali Zardari to approve the summary forwarded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the appointment of 19 additional judges and the confirmation of five judges in the Islamabad, Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan and Peshawar high courts.
During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel argued that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan had recommended the appointments during its meetings on July 20 and 21 and that the summary had remained pending despite the passage of 15 days.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir repeatedly questioned whether a constitutional petition could be maintained against the president and asked the petitioner's lawyer to cite any legal precedent in which a court had issued a writ directing the president in the exercise of constitutional powers under Article 48.
The court also observed that the judgments cited by the petitioner did not support the request for judicial directions to the president.
The petitioner's counsel argued that the president's role in approving judicial appointments was ceremonial and maintained that the Ministry of Law and Justice, as the competent authority, could issue appointment notifications even if presidential approval was delayed.
Counsel further requested the court to seek responses from the federation, the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Law and Justice regarding the status of the summary.
After hearing the arguments, the court declined to issue notices to the respondents at this stage and reserved its decision on the maintainability of the petition.
