ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the chief justice of the court is the “Master of the Roster” and has exclusive authority to constitute benches and assign cases.
In a written judgment, issued by a four-member bench hearing an internal appeal of an earlier IHC order correcting the issuance of contempt of court notices to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet, the court observed that a high court bench does not come into legal existence merely by virtue of its physical presence or the status of its judges.
“[A bench is formed] only after constitution and assignment of work through a roster duly approved by the Chief Justice in accordance with Article 202 of the Constitution and the applicable High Court Rules.
The order said that no judge or tribunal shall itself confer, initiate, retain, transfer or otherwise assume jurisdiction over a case except through the institutional mechanism controlled by the Chief Justice. Any attempt to do so amounts to an impermissible assumption of jurisdiction.
The judgment held that the Chief Justice may consolidate identical or substantially similar petitions at any time to ensure consistency, avoid conflicting judgments and promote judicial efficiency, and is not required to obtain the consent of any court that previously heard the case.
On 21 July 2025, contempt proceedings were initiated against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and cabinet members for allegedly defying court orders to provide reasons for not assisting a US court hearing the case of jailed neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
In a three-page order authored by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, the court had directed the initiation of contempt proceedings, making all members of the federal government liable and seeking their reply within two weeks.
Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan had noted that the government had been given time to respond but failed to do so, warning that inaction would result in contempt.
The federal government had earlier approached the Supreme Court on 15 July 2025 seeking to overturn an IHC order on 16 May 2025 that allowed amendments to an earlier decided petition relating to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui almost a decade after its filing.
Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan, who was scheduled to proceed on summer vacation from July 21, had earlier announced that he would hear the case on that date. However, the case was not listed on his bench on the official case list.
He nevertheless heard the case and later issued the contempt order, which also contained sharp criticism of IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and other post-26th Amendment judicial developments.
The government later filed an internal appeal against the order, which was heard by a four-judge larger bench headed by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir.
The bench ruled that the July 21, 2025 contempt order was issued by a bench that “never came into legal existence under the approved custody schedule” and was therefore without jurisdiction.
As a result, the court recalled the order on 21 July in Writ Petition No. 3139 of 2015 (Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui v. Federation of Pakistan, etc.) and declared that the tribunal which issued the order was not legally constituted.
