ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the decision of the Parliamentary Committee (PC) which denied one year extensions in the service of two additional judges of the Sindh High Court and restrained the respondents from issuing any notification in pursuance of the PC’s recommendations.
A four-member larger bench comprising Justice Mahmood Akhtar Siddiqui, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez was hearing petitions against the decision of committee, which had rejected the proposal of Judicial Commission for one year extension in the service of four additional judges of the Lahore High Court and two additional judges of the Sindh High Court. Additional Attorney General K.K Agha contended before the court that the Parliamentary Committee was not rubberstamp and it was not mandatory for it to accept all the proposals of the Judicial Commission.
He said the petitions were not filed under Article 184 of the Constitution and no fundamental rights were affected, thus the court should reject the petitions. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja observed that if the case had no public importance, then why the people had participated in the movement for restoration of judges.
Counsel for the petitioners, Makhdoom Ali Khan said the court should decide the power of Parliamentary Committee and should set the criteria about the rejection of Judicial Commission’s proposals. He said he still was not provided reasons of the PC, on whose grounds the extension was rejected.
KK Agha said the reasons could not be made public. The court directed counsel for the petitioners to start arguments on merit from today (Tuesday). Earlier on February 17, the court had suspended the recommendations of Parliamentary Committee (PC) rejecting one year extension proposed by Judicial Commission in the service of four additional judges of the LHC.
