Two Islamabad High Court Judges Raise Concerns Ahead of Full Court Meeting
Islamabad – Hours before a crucial full court meeting of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), two judges have written letters to Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, raising serious questions about transparency and administrative practices within the court.
Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan sent separate letters to the Chief Justice, copies of which were also circulated among other judges. Both urged that their concerns be included in the agenda of the upcoming full court meeting.
In his letter, Justice Babar Sattar highlighted a lack of transparency and logic in case fixation and roster formation, noting that senior judges, including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, had been excluded from leading divisional benches. He questioned whether case allocation should depend solely on the Chief Justice’s discretion or whether it should be governed by transparent principles.
Justice Sattar also criticized the alleged manipulation of case lists, stating that transferred and additional judges were being assigned more cases while permanent judges, who opposed the Chief Justice’s transfer, were sidelined. He further pointed to failures in supervising the subordinate judiciary and accused the administration of defying judicial orders by refusing to issue cause lists.
Meanwhile, Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan, in his two-page letter, objected to the manner in which the *Practice and Procedure Rules* were circulated to judges just days before the meeting. He argued that adopting Lahore High Court rules without proper presentation reduced the full court meeting to a mere formality. He demanded that the exclusion of senior judges from administrative committees and the issuance of gazette notifications without full court approval be added to the agenda.
Justice Ejaz also criticized the requirement for judges to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) before traveling abroad, terming it a violation of basic rights. He stressed that such restrictions effectively allow the Chief Justice to decide whether a judge can spend vacations abroad or not.
Legal experts echoed these concerns. Former Additional Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Khokhar emphasized that the Chief Justice’s authority as “master of the roster” is a constitutional trust, not an absolute power, and should not be used to sideline senior judges. Advocate Abdul Moiz Jafri described it as another example of “rule through roster,” long used to suppress independent judges.
According to reports, today’s full court meeting agenda includes discussion on high court service rules, practice and procedure rules, construction issues of the high court building, and the powers of family judges.
