AGP Awan differs with CJP Afridi’s opinion on Justice Dogar’s seniority 

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan’s opinion on the seniority of acting Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar has turned out to be different from that of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.  

As per the opinion given by the AGP in writing at the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting, “The transfer of a judge from a high court is not for a temporary time period. Justice Dogar was transferred from the Lahore High Court (LHC) in the public interest for which consultations were held with the president and the chief justice of the concerned high court.”  

The attorney general added that Justice Dogar could not be placed at the bottom of the seniority list. “Neither he is a civil servant,” he said, adding the rules, which pertained to the seniority of civil servants, did not apply in the case of high courts’ judges.

The AGP went on to say that rules had been laid down in the constitution that governed the seniority of judges. 

He further said that the issue of seniority of a judge could not be raised at the JCP’s meeting. 

Besides that, he said, chief justices of the high courts from where these judges came determined their seniority and the judicial commission could not question their judgment. 

The attorney general also said that nowhere in the constitution it was written that after having been transferred, a judge takes a fresh oath. “There is a difference between a judge’s appointment and his transfer.” 

Justice Afridi, on the other hand, while talking to newsmen, had said that Justice Dogar’s name should not have featured on the IHC judges’ seniority list.

He had also said that AGP Awan also held the same opinion.  

Reporter: Hashir Warraich