IHC declares notification on District Judiciary Tribunal’s reconstitution illegal

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the March 18 notification issued by the Ministry of Law regarding the reconstitution of the Islamabad District Judiciary Service Tribunal as illegal. A tribunal comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan issued the verdict on Friday.

The tribunal registrar has been directed to provide a copy of the order to the acting Chief Justice and the judges nominated by him. According to the order, the appeal decided on March 13 included an application scheduling pending cases before the newly nominated tribunal judges. The written order stated that the tribunal did not wish to ’embarrass’ fellow judges nominated by the acting Chief Justice.

It further pointed out that the acting Chief Justice’s personal secretary had contacted the tribunal registrar, instructing him to ensure that tribunal members do not issue decisions on pending appeals and return the case files.

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Tribunal staff stated that the acting Chief Justice had decided to dissolve the tribunal, insisting that pending case files be returned so they could be presented before the newly appointed tribunal members.

The order also asserts that the acting Chief Justice had no authority to issue such directives and that after the tribunal’s formation, he had no power to interfere or nominate new judges.

The tribunal also ruled that its members, similar to high court judges, cannot be removed or stripped of jurisdiction arbitrarily.

The tribunal, constituted on January 9, 2024, consisted of judges nominated by former Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa and had no internal disagreements necessitating its reconstitution.

The verdict further stated that neither the federal government nor the President has the authority to reconstitute the tribunal unless a vacancy arises.

The Ministry of Law, with the President’s approval, had earlier formed a new tribunal headed by Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, with Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inam Amin Minhas as members.