ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan has convened a meeting on April 28 to deliberate on the possible transfer of judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to other high courts across the country.
Members of the Commission have been formally notified of the agenda. The meeting is expected to consider the transfer of two or three IHC judges in the first phase, with postings under discussion for the Lahore High Court, Peshawar High Court and Sindh High Court.
The session will be chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi. Informed sources indicate the meeting has been requisitioned on the request of at least one-third of the Commission’s members.
Among the judges whose names have been mentioned in connection with possible transfers are Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, Justice Khadim Hussain Somro and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, though it remains unclear how many transfers will actually be taken up.
This will be the first meeting of the Commission to address judicial transfers following the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, under which the authority to transfer high court judges has been shifted from the executive to the Judicial Commission, a body comprising members of both the judiciary and the executive.
Prior to the 26th Constitutional Amendment, a high court judge could not be transferred without his or her consent. Under the revised framework introduced by the 27th Amendment, however, a judge who refuses a transfer may be proceeded against under Article 209 of the Constitution. Any decision at the April 28 meeting is expected to be taken through a majority vote, setting an important precedent for the exercise of the Commission’s newly conferred powers.
