Two SC judges declare IHC transfers unconstitutional in dissenting note
Pakistan
Judges' transfer in IHC was done in bad faith: Justice Naeem, Justice Sh
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News): Two judges of the Supreme Court have spoken out against the majority verdict in the judges’ transfer case, calling the move “malicious” and lacking constitutional backing.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shakeel Ahmed issued a strong dissenting note, declaring that the recent transfer of judges in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was carried out in bad faith and without following proper procedures.
According to their note, the transfer should be struck down and declared null and void.
The dissenting judges stated that the President of Pakistan overstepped his constitutional limits, violating clear provisions of the Constitution regarding the appointment and transfer of judges.
“The Constitution does not allow judges transferred from another court to be appointed as permanent judges without clear timelines and proper legal procedure,” the note read.
Justice Naeem and Justice Shakeel added that the transfers were made in haste and no valid reasons were given to justify the decisions. “It appears that the whole process was rushed through without transparency, raising serious questions about intent,” they said.
The disagreement came shortly after the Supreme Court's constitutional bench announced its majority verdict, upholding the transfer of Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar as lawful and in line with the Constitution.
The majority decision was penned by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, and Justice Salahuddin, while Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shakeel Ahmed chose to go against the grain and raised the red flag over what they termed a troubling precedent.
