Transfers are a deliberate attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary and manipulate the judiciary for political gain
Daily Dawn Court Reporter + Dawn TV
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging the transfer of judges from other provinces to the Islamabad High Court.
The petition filed under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution alleged that the transfers are a deliberate attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary and manipulate the judiciary for political gain.
The petition submitted by Imran Khan’s legal team has expressed serious reservations over the transfer of three judges from provincial high courts to the Islamabad High Court in February.
The judges transferred include Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Muhammad Asif of the Lahore, Sindh and Balochistan High Courts respectively.
Justice Sarfraz Dogar has since been appointed as the interim Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently lodged in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, argued that the transfers were made without transparency, proper consultation, or a legitimate justification of public interest.
The petition claimed that the transfers were part of a broader strategy to fill the courts with judges favored by the executive, thereby compromising the independence of the judiciary.
The petition said that the independence of the judiciary is ‘a cornerstone of Pakistan’s democratic system’, and the transfers were made to punish judges who had earlier resisted external pressure and decided cases on merit, especially those involving Imran Khan himself.
The petition cited the example of former Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, who was ‘deprived’ of appointment to the Supreme Court after he refused to recuse himself from cases in which Imran Khan was an accused.
The petition also pointed out that the transfers ‘disrupted the seniority of judges’, with newly transferred judges being appointed to key positions, including acting Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, without taking the required oath.
It ‘undermined’ the institutional integrity of the judiciary and eroded public confidence in the judicial system.
The petition raised constitutional questions, including lack of transparency and due process and whether the transfers of judges without any reason or duration were arbitrary and in violation of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in the Al-Jihad Trust case. Imran Khan stressed that judicial transfers should be made with a clearly stated public interest justification.
The petition, citing the Law Ministry’s notification issued on February 1, said that failure to provide such justification “renders the notification illegal and unconstitutional.”
The petition warned that unchecked transfer powers could lead to arbitrary changes of judges to influence important court decisions, thereby compromising judicial impartiality.
The PTI founder has urged the Supreme Court to declare the February 1 notification illegal and unconstitutional and direct the respondents to ensure judicial independence and transparency in judicial transfers.
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