Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh has again refused to attend sittings of the Supreme Court as an ad hoc judge, saying he is humbled by the offer of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), but his answer is similar as earlier.
The SHC chief justice had through his Aug 5
letter to the JCP dispelled an impression that he had ever accorded his consent
to become an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court. However, he had said he would
have no objection if he was appointed or elevated to the Supreme Court as a
permanent judge.
A source privy to the development told that
the SHC chief justice communicated to all the JCP members that he had learnt
about the commission’s decision for which he was humbled, but his answer would
remain the same as he had stated earlier.
Thus the matter is closed for all times to
come, commented a senior counsel on condition of anonymity, adding that turning
down the offer carried no consequences as Justice Shaikh would continue to
remain as the SHC chief justice. Had he accepted the offer, he would have still
been the chief justice and in his place the senior puisine judge of the SHC
would have served as acting chief justice of the high court, the counsel said.
In a written argument before the JCP,
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan had earnestly requested
Justice Shaikh to reconsider his stance in the interest of the people of Sindh
and the institution of the SHC, which “we all love and cherish”, and accept the
JCP decision.
The JCP at a meeting on Tuesday, presided
over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, had decided by a majority
of five to four that the SHC chief justice would be invited to become an ad hoc
judge of the Supreme Court for a period of one year provided he accorded his
consent.
CJP Gulzar, who was present at a seminar on
minority rights at a hotel here on Wednesday, said he had no idea when media
persons asked him whether or not the SHC chief justice had consented to become
an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman
Khush Dil Khan has strongly condemned the nomination of Justice Shaikh as an ad
hoc judge of the apex court, without his consent, by the JCP at its Tuesday
meeting, after he had expressed his unwillingness to become an ad hoc judge.
He said it was a violation of Article 182 of
the Constitution as the high court chief justice could not be appointed as an
ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court. Only a retired judge of the apex court or
high court could be appointed as an ad hoc judge of the apex court, he
contended.
Khush dil Khan expressed his surprise that on
July 28 the SHC chief justice was not competent to be elevated as a judge of
the Supreme Court, but after two weeks he became eligible and competent for
appointment as an ad hoc judge of the apex court. He said the legal fraternity
felt that a bad constitutional precedent was being set through this ad hoc
appointment which would further weaken the judicial system in the country.
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