ISLAMABAD - Supreme Court of Pakistan has summoned Registrar Sindh High Court (SHC) on December 2 regarding illegal appointments in the provincial courts.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial conducted hearing of a petition regarding appointment of judges in the SHC and as civil and additional district judges in the lower judiciary of the province.
The Registrar SHC is ordered to submit a report containing information how many persons were recruited since 2017 and on whose orders. He should also inform the court that under which law the recruitments were made.
The bench noted that according to the petitioner, six persons appointed as court clerks were relatives of Zulfiqar Sheikh, who had contacts with the policy makers of the province. The bench further noted that the petition also said that former registrar Sindh High Court Ghulam Rasool Sammu appointed many persons against the merit and in disregard of the age limit.
Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi has filed a petition through advocate Khawaja Shamsul Islam under Article 184(3) of Constitution. He has requested the apex court to declare the appointments as illegal, mala fide, unlawful, ultra vires, unconstitutional and null and void, having no legal effect.
Chief Justice and Registrar Sindh High Court and the provincial law ministry & the federal government have been made respondents.
The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to order for constitution of an investigation commission comprising senior judges of the apex court as well as the senior-most judges of the SHC to scrutinise the record of appointments made in the high court and the district judiciary of Sindh since 2017.
The Supreme Court should also order the SHC registrar as well as the Sindh law ministry to produce entire record of the appointments made in the high court and the lower judiciary from 2017 till date, the petitioner argued.