Five IHC judges to challenge revised seniority list in SC

Five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), whose representation against the seniority list was rejected by Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Aamer Farooq, on Thursday hired the services of senior lawyers Munir A. Malik and Barrister Salahuddin so that they could challenge the chief justice’s decision in the Supreme Court (SC) either today or tomorrow.The judges had filed the representation against placing Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar, who was transferred from the Lahore High Court to the IHC, on the top of the seniority list.A week ago, Justice Farooq had rejected a representation filed by five judges against changes in judicial seniority, thus upholding the seniority list revised following the transfer of judges from three provincial high courts and paved the way for the nomination of a Justice Dogar for the chief justice’s position, which will fall vacant after the elevation of CJ Justice Aamer Farooq to the Supreme Court.Justice Dogar had originally taken oath as a high court judge in June 2015.The decision affirmed that judges transferred from provincial high courts did not require a fresh oath, as there is a distinction between judicial appointments and transfers.