ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court shot down a petition on Thursday against the appointment of Justice Qazi Faez Isa as chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and his promotion to the top court.
The petition was filed by Advocate Riaz Hanif Rahi, who argued that there exists no provision in the Constitution for direct appointment of the chief justice of a province pleading that the guidance provided in Articles 196 and 200 of the Constitution was not followed (in the case).
Moreover, Barrister Ali Zafar, representing the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), argued that Justice Isa was appointed directly as the chief justice of Balochistan, without first being appointed a judge at the provincial court.
“The then acting governor did not take advice from the provincial chief minister before approving the appointment,” observed Zafar.
Unimpressed by the arguments, the court rejected the petition with Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar remarking that it was the need of the hour to appoint the chief justice directly.
The top judge bolstered his observation by stating that the entire bench was left vacant after an SC decision regarding judges who took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).
During the hearing, the chief justice remarked that all things became irrelevant once the judge was appointed to the Supreme Court, adding that before the petitioner’s request in 2016, Justice Isa had been made a Supreme Court judge.
Meanwhile, the complainant also failed to provide any proofs of a communication gap between the acting governor and the chief minister over the appointment issue.
