- Advocate Muhammad Afaq challenges judicial appointments of officers working in areas other than their domicile
The appointments of five senior judicial officers including Registrar Sardar Ahmad Naeem in the Lahore High Court (LHC) have been challenged.
The appointments have been challenged by Advocate Muhammad Afaq who termed them as sheer violation of National Judicial Policy (NJP).
The lawyer stated that according to NJP, judicial officers holding Lahore domiciles could not be appointed in their home districts. LHC Registrar Sardar Ahmad Naeem, Staff Officer to Chief Justice Jawad-ul-Hassan, Additional Registrar Judicial Ashtar Abbas, Member Inspection Team Habibullah Amir and Additional Registrar Vigilance Haroon Latif have Lahore domiciles and they had been appointed in the LHC administration in violation of the NJP, the petitioner lawyer added.
The petitioner requested the court to declare these appointments as illegal and in violation of the NJP besides posting them in other districts of Punjab.
LHC SUMMONS AGRICULTURE MINISTER: Lahore High Court on Tuesday summoned Punjab Minister for Agriculture Farrukh Javed over his involvement in the postings and transfers of the department.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah also suspended transfer orders of Deputy District Officer (Agriculture) Arifwala allegedly issued at the behest of the provincial minister. The court also directed the secretary agriculture to appear in person to state the department stance over the matter.
The petitioner officer through Advocate Muhammad Mushtaq Mohal pleaded that secretary food had transferred him from Arifwala to Chichawatni at the behest of food minister. He said that he was being politically victimised by issuing his transfer order again and again. He pointed out that under the law a minister had no power to interfere in transfer and posting of government officials.
He requested the court to take notice of the minister’s involvement in the postings and transfers of the department officers and also suspend orders issued at the behest of the minister.
The court recorded initial arguments and admitted the petition for regular hearing. The court suspended transfer order of DDO (Agriculture) and summoned minister for food by December 3.
LHC SEEKS REPLY IN SACKED WARDENS’ CASE: LHC on Tuesday sought reply from the Punjab government on petition challenging registration of fraud case against 279 sacked traffic wardens.
Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali Shah directed an additional advocate general to appear with reply from the government and deferred further hearing for indefinite time.
The sacked wardens Qamar Javed, Maqsood, Fayyaz, Atif and others challenged their removal. Petitioners’ counsel submitted that the petitioners were pressing for their promotion when a case at Chohng police station was lodged on August 21 removing them from their service and accusing them of using fake educational documents for their promotions.
The lawyer alleged the petitioners were removed with the connivance of clerks by putting the allegation of bringing change in the seniority list. He said that a show cause notice was issued to them but they were not given a chance to defend themselves.
He said that the petitioners’ job was to control traffic and the department was the custodian of their documents and it was the department’s responsibility to verify the documents. He said that the action against the petitioners was based on malicious intent and as such has no value before the eyes of law.
He requested the court to quash the case and order for their reinstatement.