JCP flags deficiencies in nominations for IHC judges

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has raised multiple objections to the candidacies of 17 nominees for four vacant positions of judges at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), citing incomplete and deficient applications.

The JCP secretariat informed candidates that the “initial Examination Committee has checked the nominations and has pointed out deficiencies”. According to the secretariat, several nominees failed to attach important documents like educational certificates, law degrees, lists of cases and details of reported judgements.

Documents seen by Dawn show that Islamabad Advocate General Ayyaz Shaukat, one of the nominees, was “not proposed by any [JCP] member”.

His application lacked key documents such as his Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), high court licence, details of cases handled on behalf of the government, and examples of three best pleadings.

Several nominees failed to attach key documents such as educational certificates, law degrees

Mr Shaukat was nominated by Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, who was appointed by the National Assembly speaker to represent minorities.

Another nominee, Umer Aslam Khan, did not provide a list of reported judgements, copies of five judgements, three best pleadings, his CNIC and practising licence. His name was proposed by PPP Senator Farooq H. Naek and the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC).

The incumbent chairman of the Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE), Shahid Mehmood Khokhar, also submitted the wrong application form.

The document states that “the nominee has filled in Form ‘B’ [meant for the judicial officers]… However, he should have filled in Form ‘A’ for Advocate for which he is eligible.” Mr Khokhar’s name was put forward by PML-N MNA Sheikh Aftab Ahmad.

Nominees Mohammad Abdul Rafeh and Chaudhry Hafeez Ullah Yaqoob — proposed by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan — did not attach their CNICs, law degrees and experience certificates. Similarly, another PTI nominee, Babar Bilal, failed to provide his CNIC and law degree.

Syed Qamar Hussain Sabzwari, proposed by the PPP and IBC, did not submit his CNIC, academic certificates, reported judgements, three best pleadings and practising licence. Malik Tahir Mehmood, nominated by federal minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, did not mention his date of birth and citations for cases he had handled.

Sultan Mazhar Sher Khan, a nominee of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, also failed to submit his CNIC, LLB degree and copies of best pleadings.

The JCP secretariat also found the forms of Nudrat Bayan Majeed and Adnan Haider Randhawa deficient, as they failed to submit their CNICs and law degrees. The secretariat also found that Ms Majeed did not provide the details of her reported judgement. Both were nominees of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

The CNICs of Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema and Raja Inam Ameen Minhas — the nominees of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) — were also not attached to their respective forms.

Subordinate judiciary judges found lacking Four subordinate judiciary judges also submitted incomplete applications. District and Sessions Judges Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan, Mohammad Azam Khan and Shahrukh Arjumand did not provide lists of cases decided in the past three years.

Judge Hassan’s application was also missing his CNIC. Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar failed to attach his CNIC and details of cases he had adjudicated in the last three years.

The secretariat has asked JCP members to “check their own nominees and remove the deficiencies by 9th January 2025 (close of working hours). This secretariat would not be in a position to get the late information verified by concerned quarters before a meeting of JCP”.

The JCP also decided not to disclose the names of proposers. If not removed, the case shall be placed before the JCP with these deficiencies.

Out of the 21 nominations submitted, the secretariat found only four applications in order. These included Kashif Ali Malik (nominated by Farooq H. Naek and PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan), Danyal Ijaz (nominated by PPP), Adnan Basharat (nominated by Roshan Khursheed Bharucha), and Qazi Adil Aziz (nominated by the IBC).

The JCP has scheduled a meeting on Jan 17 to deliberate on the nominations for the IHC and the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

A senior lawyer questioned whether allowing nominees to rectify these deficiencies amounts to relaxing the rules, citing Clause 3 of the JCP Rules, which states: “Nominations received after the prescribed time shall not be placed before the Commission for consideration.”

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2025