ISLAMABAD: Endorsing the Judicial Commission’s recommendation, the eight-member parliamentary committee on judges’ appointment on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Justice Ejaz Chaudhry as new chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The committee also elected PPP’s Senator Nayyar Hussain Bokhari as the chairman of the parliamentary committee. Talking to reporters after the meeting, committee member Sabir Baloch said Bokhari had been unanimously elected on permanent basis. The committee also finalised rules of business of the committee.
Committee Secretary Raja Muhammad Amin said according to the rules, the presence of five of the eight members would be compulsory quorum to hold a committee meeting. “The committee can reject any recommendation of the Judicial Commission with a 6:2 majority vote,” he said.
A source in the committee said the PML-N was against the election of a lawyer for the chairmanship of the committee. “Ishaq Dar and Sardar Mehtab Abbasi were of the point of view that the chairman of the committee might have to appear before those judges as a lawyer in the future, when ceasing to hold the position, whose appointment was approved by him,” said the source, adding that the PML-N leaders were later convinced by other members of the committee.
The source said the committee members from the PPP also rejected Shujaat Hussain’s proposal of appointing committee chairman on the basis of rotation, saying that it would hamper smooth functioning of the committee. “The PPP also requested the PML-Q and the PML-N for having chairmanship which was first accepted by the PML-Q President Ch Shujaat Hussain followed by the PML-N leaders,” the source said.
Before the start of committee’s last meeting on Monday, Shujaat had told reporters that he would propose that the committee’s chairmen should be elected on rotation and every meeting should be chaired by a new chairman. Under Article 175A of the constitution, the parliamentary committee had to give its recommendation on the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s nominations for judges’ appointment within 14 days, but the committee endorsed the JCP nomination on the tenth day. Justice Ejaz Chaudhry will take oath as LHC chief justice after the incumbent CJ, Khawaja Sharif, retires on December 8.
