Islamabad:

The federal government on Wednesday called on the Supreme Court to reject the pleas against the transfer of judges to Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the subsequent changes in the seniority list.

According to petitions filed by five IHC judges among others, the three transferred judges cannot be considered judges in IHC until they have declined a fresh oath in accordance with Article 194 of the Constitution.

In his answer, the federal government sought the dismissal of the pleas as the three judges have been “transferred according to the Constitution …[and they]it is not required to make a new oath after transfer “as in Article 200, it did not mean a new agreement.

“[The judges were transferred to] “Bring transparency into the judiciary does not affect the independence of the court,” Read the answer submitted by Islamabad further lawyer.

“Article 200 (1), deals with the president’s power to transfer the judge from one Supreme Court to another, thereby attributing a clear duration to the transfer,” it claimed.

“No use of the term ‘for such a period’ or ‘during the period’ of clause (1) of Article 200 clearly reflects that the transfer of the transfer is in contrast to clause (3), [is] Not in the form of a temporary scheme, ”the answer added.

“Permanens of transfer pursuant to Article 200 (1) also appears in the fact that in order to send the Transferee Judge back to his parent High Court, the President must follow the entire procedure specified in accordance with Article 200 (1).”

Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) has decided to withdraw its constitutional petition from the Supreme Court, who contested the transfer of three judges from other provincial high courts to Islamabad High Court (IHC).

According to a statement, a letter of government has been issued to the lawyer-on-record, Anees Muhammad Shehzad, who approves the petition.

The decision was made during an executive committee meeting in IHCBA, which ended with a unanimous vote in favor of withdrawing the matter.

The statement signed by the IHCBA president Syed Wajid Ali Shah Gilani and Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed Jajja noted that the decision to withdraw the petition was unanimous as IHCBA is not an affected party in the case.

It emphasized that the question relates to the judicial seniority of the judges and added that the case was disputed by the judge in question himself in the point of view.

The case is a constitutional nature and must be resolved through constitutional forums, noted the declaration.

Bar Association clarified that the constitutional petition was initially submitted to the Supreme Court without approval of its executive body by a former IHCBA president.

The Executive Committee therefore unanimously decided to separate from the case and formally led the withdrawal of the petition from the Supreme Court.