Karachi:

Sindh High Court’s constitutional bench has ordered the appointment of a visually impaired lawyer as a legal magistrate under the Sindh Judicial Services rules.

A two-member SHC constitution bench, led by Justice KK Agha and also consisting of Justice Nisar, gave the orders while convicted of a petition filed by the lawyer, Sadiq Hussain, who sought an easing of the medical fitness requirements for judicial appointments due to his visual impairment.

The bench gave up that Sadiq, a practicing lawyer, is eligible for the position of judicial magistrate despite his visual impairment. The decision requires the implementation of the appointment within four weeks or at the next available available position.

In its written order, the bench gave up that Sadiq has been able to sustain through his legal practice. The bench also instructed copies of its decision to be sent to the provincial secretary and the SHC registrar for implementation. Sadiq’s legal adviser, lawyer Haseeb Jamali, had claimed his client underwent a medical examination following recommendation from the selection committee, but his medical certificate was detained due to his visual impairment. The selection committee had advised him to turn to SHC to reveal the requirement of medical fitness.

The petitioner had submitted his application to the SHC registrar, but no action was taken. The petitioner’s lawyer then approached the constitutional bench and requested that he get the same benefits as recommended by the selection committee in 2015. The case is pending since 2016 was brought before SHC again in 2024 by lawyer Jamali.

Sadiq, who had been fighting for nine years to reach his goal, shared his gratitude. He revealed that his late father had always wanted him to become a judge and had supported him throughout his journey. Sadiq’s father died in 2018 before watching the spread of his son’s dreams.