ISLAMABAD — A session of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Thursday on the appointment of Lahore High Court’s Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court ended in a tie.
The JCP meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed discussed Justice Ayesha’s elevation to the Supreme Court and the verdict ended in a tie.
Sources said that Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa could not attend the meeting as he was abroad so his vote was not part of the final decision.
According to the rules, the Supreme Court chief justice recommends name of a high court judge for appointment to the apex court, which is then approved by the JCP.
According to sources, CJP Ahmed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan and Minister for Law Farogh Naseem voted in favour of Justice Ayesha’s appointment to the apex court, while Justice Maqbool Baqir, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, a Pakistan Bar Council representative and former SC judge, Justice (Retired) Dost Mohammad, voted against the appointment.
Sources cited legal experts as saying that under the Constitution of Pakistan any appointment to the Supreme Court of Pakistan has to be approved by the majority of JCP members, so technically Justice Ayesha’s appointment has been “rejected”. Had her name been approved by the majority, she would have been the first woman judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Sources said the AGP suggested that judgements and record of women judges of other high courts should also be reviewed and the matter should be referred to the next meeting, but no agreement was reached on this issue either.
It should be noted that lawyers staged a protest against the possible appointment of Justice Ayesha to the Supreme Court on Thursday. Various bar councils are of the view that the seniority principle must be taken into account in the appointment of judges.
