ISLAMABAD: Two more members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) have written a letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, urging him to call a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the appointment of judges on the five vacant SC seats and “avoid unwanted rumors of petty politics”.
Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote a joint letter to Chief Justice just a week after Justice Qazi Faez Isa had written a letter to the chief judge regarding the same matter, it emerged on Saturday.
In a letter dated October 7, they stated that in order to fulfil the requirements of Article 175A(8) of the Constitution, which states: “The commission by majority of its total membership shall nominate to the Parliamentary Committee one person, for each vacancy of a Judge in the Supreme Court, a High Court, or the Federal Shariat Court, as the case may be,” a JCP meeting should “automatically be scheduled” as soon as possible in the event of any vacancy in the top court.
The judges stated that it was the duty of each JCP member to see that court vacancies were promptly filled and that any excessive delay in doing so would be “unfortunate and unpleasant.”
Five positions had been vacant in the Supreme Court since February, according to the letter. It also stated that they had “repeatedly requested” the CJP to convene a JCP meeting to fill the gaps, but their discussions with him on the matter “ended in vain.”
Justice Qazi Faez Isa had also written to the CJP on September 28 about the identical topic, Justice Masood and Justice Shah pointed out.
The letter emphasizes that the nomination process’ independence and transparency are significantly harmed by the delay in filling the vacancy, which also undermines the institution and fuels unwarranted rumors of petty politics, lobbying, and quid pro quo appointments.
The judges recalled that the Al Jehad Trust case from 1996, in which the Supreme Court outlined its legal position, stated that permanent vacancies in judicial offices should be filled “immediately and no later than 30 days,” and that they had taken an oath under the Constitution to protect and defend it.
The letter emphasizes that “the ordinate delay of almost nine months in this case must be urgently addressed first,” noting that the judges had already suggested that either the top two judges from each high court or the five chief justices of the high courts be considered for the open positions before holding a vote at the subsequent JCP meeting.
Earlier, Justice Isa requested CJP Bandial in a letter to “immediately” call a meeting of the JCP to fill the vacant SC seats because unfilled seats might render the nation’s highest court “dysfunctional.”
The senior puisne judge emphasized that the five vacancies have cost the Supreme Court 726 working days and that during this time, “more than 50,000 cases have piled at the Supreme Court.”
