Additional judges: Supreme Court asks government to issue appointment notification

Putting aside parliamentary committee recommendations, which had denied one-year extension in service to six superior courts additional judges, Supreme Court on Friday directed the government to issue appointment notification as per judicial commission's recommendations immediately.
A four-member bench headed by Justice Mahmmod Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Pervez issued the ruling after hearing petitions, assailing the parliamentary committee's decision of declining the commission's recommendations to extend the service tenure of four additional judges of Lahore High Court (LHC) and two of the Sindh High Court (SHC).
A one-year extension was denied to four additional judges of LHC as well as two SHC judges by the eight-member bipartisan committee. The committee based its decision on exception taken by a sole member of the commission. The LHC judges who had not been granted extension included Syed Mazhar Ali, Mohammad Yawar Ali, Mamun Rasheed and Muhammad Farrukh Irfan of Lahore High Court and Justice Mohammad Tasneem and Justice Salman Hamid of Sindh high court.
Makhdoom Ali Khan, counsel for Munir Hussain Bhatti advocate and Kamran Murtaza advocate - the two petitioners, rejected the arguments of Additional Attorney General K. K. Agha, on the plea that judicial commission had primacy over decision of parliamentary committee.
He said the commission was a forum which could rightly decide cases of judges. Anwar Mansoor Khan, president Sindh High Court Bar Association, another petitioner, also endorsed the commission was the right forum to decide the fate of judges. The petitioners prayed for acceptance of their pleas, quashing the recommendations of the committee pertaining to six judges of both LHC and SHC. The bench was requested to direct the government to implement recommendations of the commission. The AAG stated that the government is making efforts to change the system through a democratic process without saying anything below the dignity of judiciary as claimed by the petitioners.
AAG further said, "Though, these could not be justifiable before the commission, the Supreme Court could be forum to judge them". He said that committee's role over appointment of judges was as important as that of the commission. He prayed that judicial restraint should be exercised as the sensitive issue pertained to appointment of judges and not to public.