JCP recommends three names for SC judgeship

ISLAMABAD, Oct 24 (NNI): The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Monday approved three names of high court judges for the judgeship of the Supreme Court.
The commission’s meeting chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial was held here in Islamabad on Monday.
In the meeting, the name of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah, Lahore High Court’s judge Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi were unanimously approved.
While the JCP sitting did not make any consensus on the name of Justice Shafi Siddiqui of the Sindh High Court so his recommendation has been postponed.
The Commission has sent the recommendations to the Parliamentary Committee for final approval. The report said that the names of three judges were recommended in the ratio of five to four.
As per the report, the names of Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi were approved by a majority vote and the name of Justice Athar Minallah was unanimously approved.
The meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) was held today (Monday) to elevate the high court judges to the Supreme Court under the shadows of the strike call given by the Pakistan Bar Council and Sindh Bar Council.
Supreme Court of Pakistan Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial presided over the meeting. The meeting considered the nomination of four judges for their elevation to the apex court.
The names of judges who have been recommended for the elevation by Chief Justice of Pakistan Bandial include Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shafi Siddiqui of the Sindh High Court.
It is worth mentioning that the legal fraternity including Pakistan Bar Council and Sindh Bar Council, and Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa have expressed their reservations over the nominations of the high court judges.
The PCB and SBC have resented the CJP’s decision who has nominated junior judges of the high courts for their elevation to the apex court. Both the bars have given a strike call.
The lawyers in Karachi shut the doors of main building of the Sindh High Court today in protest.
In his letter to the CJP a couple of days ago, Justice Isa also requested Chief Justice of Pakistan Bandial to withdraw the names of three junior judges who have been rejected by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) in its last meeting of July 28.
It is to be noted that Justice Qazi Faiz Essa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah voted against the appointment of Justice Shahid and Justice Hassan Azhar to the Supreme Court. Representative of the Pakistan Bar Council Justice Sardar Tariq also voted against the elevation of the two judges.
Earlier on October 8, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah — both Supreme Court judges — have written a letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, requesting him to call the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the appointment of judges on the Supreme Court’s vacant posts. NNI