Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth of PHC seeks elevation to top court: report

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth, on Thursday requested the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to recommend his elevation to the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on the basis of his seniority and merit, reported The News.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, who is the Chairman of the JCP, Justice Seth said that he had a legitimate expectancy to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court and should be recommended for the appointment. 

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Justice Seth was elevated to the PHC as Additional Judge on August 2, 2011 and took oath as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court on June 28, 2018. He is most famous for being on the bench that handed the death penalty to former president Pervez Musharraf in a high treason case. 

In is letter, Justice Seth contended that in view of the relevant provisions of the Constitution and well-established Constitutional conventions, he had a legitimate expectancy to be appointed as a judge of the SC, but had been ignored and superseded thrice. 

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“The appointment of judges from the Lahore High Court have been made in violation of the principle of seniority,” Justice Seth contended.” He further submitted that being a superseded judge, he had been disqualified from elevations in the future as well. 

It is pertinent to mention that last month, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed recommended the name of Lahore High Court (LHC) Judge Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi for elevation to the Supreme Court. 

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The Parliamentary Committee on appointment of Judges also endorsed Justice Naqvi’s elevation and later on the President of Pakistan notified his appointment. 

Justice Seth submitted that out of turn elevations to the Supreme Court will undermine the independence of judiciary and will only create an anarchic situation within the judiciary, giving birth to an unhealthy competition among judges of the high court to achieve coveted positions.

Originally published in The News