ISLAMABAD: Five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges have refused to accept Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar as a judge of the IHC, raising alarms over his seniority and the legitimacy of his appointment, urging the IHC chief justice to remedy the situation before the crucial Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting.
In a representation submitted to IHC CJ Aamer Farooq, Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Saman Rafat Imtiaz argued that Justice Dogar cannot be considered an IHC judge until he takes the oath as required under Article 194 of the Constitution.
“The process of Justice Dogar’s appointment as judge of Islamabad High Court is however not com-plete, for he has yet to be sworn an oath to serve on the Islamabad High Court as Article 194 makes necessary. Consequently, he cannot be considered a Judge of the Islamabad High Court,” it read.
The lawyers argued that once Justice Dogar takes his oath as a judge of the IHC, his seniority will need to be determined from the date on which the oath is administered to him by the IHC CJ. Therefore, Justice Dogar will be lower in seniority than the undersigned judges who took their oaths before him.
The judges have urged the IHC chief justice to resolve the matter before the JCP meeting scheduled for February 10.
“We are endorsing a copy of this representation to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan, in his capacity as Chairman JCP, to bring the matter to the attention of JCP, lest the legality of proceedings conducted by JCP on 10.02.2025 also be marred due to consideration of judges for appointment to the Supreme Court from an illegally and erroneously constituted panel of judges from Islamabad High Court,” the judges contended.
They argue that a judge’s assumption of office is contingent upon taking an oath under Article 194, which grants judicial authority within the jurisdiction of the respective high court.The oath does not permit him/her to serve beyond this territorial jurisdiction, they further contended.
The representation also noted that Justice Dogar has yet to take an oath as an IHC judge and has only been sworn in as a Lahore High Court judge. However, the IHC’s seniority list already lists him as an IHC judge, placing him directly below the chief justice.
