ISLAMABAD: Three High Court judges, including Justice Athar Minullah, took oath as Supreme Court judges on Friday.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandyal administered the oath to Justice Athar Minullah, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi.
Justice Rizvi was serving in the Sindh High Court while Justice Waheed was serving in the Lahore High Court.
Before his promotion, Justice Minullah was the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The three judges were sworn in after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved their promotion last month.
Before his swearing-in, the Supreme Court was short of five judges out of the total strength of 17. Now there are only two vacancies left in the Supreme Court bench.
During the JCP meeting, the name of Justice Minullah was unanimously recommended while the name of Justice Rizvi and Justice Waheed was recommended by a ratio of 5-4.
Five seats in the Supreme Court became vacant on the retirement of former Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justices Mazhar Alam Khan Mian Khel, Maqbool Baqir, Sajjad Ali Shah and Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed.
After the commission’s approval, the names of the approved judges were sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges for final approval.
Justice Amir Farooq took charge of the Chief Justice Islamabad High Court.
After the swearing-in of Justice Minullah as Supreme Court judge, President Arif Alvi administered the oath of office to Justice Aamir Farooq as the chief judge of the IHC.
He was sworn in at the President’s House.
Justice Farooq’s appointment as IHC chief justice was approved by the JCP earlier this month as he was a senior judge. This confirmation comes a week after JCP confirmed Justice Minullah’s promotion.
Under Article 175-A of the Constitution, the JCP recommends the appointment and confirmation of judges, while the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges ratifies these recommendations.
