LHC gets first woman chief justice

ISLAMABAD: Justice Aalia Neelum is set to make history as the first woman to rise to the position of chief justice of the Lahore High Court, after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) unanimously approved her elevation, on Tuesday.

The JCP, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, approved her elevation after considering the nominations of three judges for the position of LHC chief justice, including Acting Chief Justice Shujaat Ali Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.

The JCP also unanimously recommended the elevation of Justice Shafi Siddiqui as chief justice of the Sindh High Court to fill the vacant seat created by the elevation of Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi to the Supreme Court.

The office of LHC chief justice became vacant after the elevation of Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan to the Supreme Court on June 7, following which Justice Shujaat Ali Khan was appointed as acting chief justice of the LHC.

Justice Aalia Neelum stands third in the seniority list of judges of the LHC. During the June 7 meeting, the JCP had decided to consider her nomination for the office of the LHC chief justice.

In a trailblazing milestone, Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar became the first woman to hold the position of chief justice of the Balochistan High Court in 2018, following the retirement of Justice Mohammad Noor Muskanzai. This was followed by another historic achievement when Justice Ayesha A. Malik became the first woman judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 2021.

A well-informed source told Dawn that the JCP had reached the consensus decision to elevate Justice Neelum despite Pakistan Bar Council’s (PBC) opposition and advocacy for adhering to the principle of seniority. The source said the commission thoroughly evaluated the credentials of all judges under consideration, and the feedback from nearly all member judges of the JCP was in favour of Justice Neelum.

When asked about the fate of the two senior judges who were bypassed for the position, the source said it’s up to them to decide, but historically, the judges who have been superseded have opted to continue serving as judges.

The source pointed out that this scenario twice happened in the past, once in the Peshawar High Court and again in the Islamabad High Court.

Before the decision to elevate Justice Neelum, six PBC members had written a letter to CJP Isa on June 28, urging the SJC to uphold the seniority principle and emphasised its importance in maintaining the credibility and integrity of the judiciary system in the country.

“We hope that in the case of the appointment of chief justice in the LHC, seniority principle will be adhered to promote credibility of the judiciary system in the country,” PBC members Shafqat Mehmood Chohan, Abid Shahib Zuberi, Chaudhry Ishtiaq Khan, Munir Ahmad Kakar, Shahab Sarki and Tahir Faraz Abbasi had stated.

Justice Neelum, born on Nov 12, 1966, earned her LLB degree from the University of Punjab in 1995 and was enrolled as an advocate in 1996. She was later enrolled as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2008 and elevated to the Lahore High Court in 2013.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2024