Justice Babar Sattar declares IHC rules violate Constitution

Justice Babar Sattar has written a formal letter to Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and all sitting judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), expressing serious concerns over recent changes made to the court’s procedural rules, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

In his letter, Justice Sattar emphasised the urgent need for corrective measures to address the irregularities.

He stated that the rule amendments were made in contradiction to the procedures outlined in the Lahore High Court Rules and Article 208 of the Constitution, which governs the rule-making authority for high courts.

Justice Sattar argued that such changes cannot be made without adhering to the constitutional framework and due process.

According to him, under Article 208 of the Constitution, the authority to formulate rules lies solely with the Chief Justice and the judges of the High Court.

Article 192 further defines this authority and makes it clear that this power cannot be delegated to any other entity or exercised through alternate means.

Justice Sattar further pointed out that the Islamabad High Court had initially adopted the Lahore High Court Rules, which did not transfer rule-making powers to any other body.

He also stated that, to his knowledge, no full court meeting had been held to revoke or amend these rules, nor were the changes formally discussed, making the Islamabad High Court Rules 2025 legally unauthorised and in violation of Article 208.

He concluded by stressing that the error must be rectified immediately, as it may directly impact the legal rights and entitlements of court employees.

Reporter: Ehtisham Kiyani