ISLAMABAD (MNN); The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday dismissed multiple intra-court appeals, including one filed by five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, after no lawyers appeared to pursue the cases.
The appeals challenged the transfer of three judges from other high courts to the IHC, a decision earlier upheld by the now-defunct Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court.
Following the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment and the establishment of the FCC, the appeals were transferred to the newly created court.
A six-member bench led by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan took up nine connected appeals. However, when counsels repeatedly failed to appear, the FCC dismissed six petitions one by one for non-prosecution — including the appeal filed by Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Saman Rafat Imtiaz and Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri.
The court adjourned hearings on three other petitions indefinitely, including one filed by PTI founder Imran Khan. His counsel sought permission to meet the incarcerated former prime minister to obtain fresh instructions after the enactment of the 27th Amendment, but the bench rejected the request, noting that such matters must be taken up before the relevant trial forum.
Other appeals taken up included those filed by bar associations from Lahore and Karachi as well as individual petitioners.
Several pleas had been filed against the June 19 ruling in which the Constitutional Bench upheld the transfers of Justice Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Muhammad Asif to the IHC — a move that altered the seniority list and later paved the way for Justice Dogar’s appointment as IHC chief justice.
The five IHC judges had contended that the Supreme Court had misinterpreted Article 200, arguing that transfers should only be temporary and must not undermine the authority of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. Imran Khan’s petition similarly argued that the earlier judgment weakened constitutional safeguards designed to protect judicial independence.
On Saturday, the same five judges filed another petition challenging the placement of their appeal before the FCC instead of the Supreme Court.
They argued that the 27th Amendment contradicted the Constitution by shifting the appeals forum. However, since their main appeal was dismissed for non-prosecution, the FCC found no reason to take up their miscellaneous application.
