Supreme Court judge Justice Aminuddin Khan tooks oath as the inaugural Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad on Friday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to Justice Aminuddin Khan who was appointed as the Chief Justice of the newly-created Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended the oath-taking ceremony.
Later, President Zardari and PM Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Justice Aminuddin Khan on becoming the first chief justice of FCC. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also attended the ceremony.
The development came soon after President Zardari signed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law, prompting Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah to resigned from their offices in protest.
A notification from the law ministry said President Zardari made the appointment under clause (3) of Article 175A read with Article 175C of the Constitution, adding it will come into effect from the date that Justice Aminuddin Khan takes his oath.
The chief justices, judges of superior courts, federal ministers, National Assembly Speaker, Senate Chairman and high-ranking officials had been invited to attend the ceremony.
Meanwhile, three of the six judges of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) also took oath of their office. FCC CJ Justice Aminuddin Khan administered the oath to the judges at a ceremony held at Islamabad High Court.
Those who took oath were Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najfi.
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar was also present on the occasion.
Earlier, the notification for the appointment of six FCC judges was issued. According to the notification, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamir Farooq, Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, Justice Karim Khan Agha, Justice Rozi Khan and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah were appointed as FCC judges.
Earlier, Justice Musarrat Hilali declined to be a judge of the FCC.
Also Read: Mansoor Ali Shah, Athar Minallah tender resignation as Supreme Court judges
Justice Aminuddin Khan was born in Multan in 1960. A second-generation lawyer, he earned his LLB from University Law College, Multan, in 1984 and began practice under his father, Khan Sadiq Muhammad Ahsan.
He became an advocate of the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 1987 and of the Supreme Court in 2001. He joined Zafar Law Chambers in Multan in 2001 and worked with the legal firm until he was elevated to the position of a judge in 2011, where he decided civil cases on the Multan and Bahawalpur benches. He was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice in 2019, taking his oath of office from then-chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
He was made the head of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench in November 2024, while ranking fourth in seniority among Supreme Court judges.
Justice Aminuddin Khan had decided thousands of cases pertaining to civil matters and most of his judgments had been upheld by the Supreme Court. During his career, he assisted renowned lawyers like Mian Nisar Ahmed and Umar Ata Bandial.
Reporter Ehtesham Kiyani