ISLAMABAD: The appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik of the Lahore High Court to the Supreme Court has come to a tie.
A meeting of the Judicial Commission was held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed in which the issue of appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik in the Supreme Court was considered. The matter ended up being tied.
According to sources, Supreme Court Judge Justice Qazi Faiz Issa could not attend the Judicial Commission meeting as he was abroad. Furthermore, he also did not give any opinion regarding Justice Ayesha Malik.
Sources said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan recommends the name of a High Court judge for the appointment in the Supreme Court, which gets approved by the Judicial Commission. In this regard, the name of Justice Ayesha Malik was recommended by the Chief Justice. However, Justice Ayesha’s name has been a matter of dispute for appointment due to there being judges higher than her in seniority.
According to reports, in the meeting of the Judicial Commission, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Attorney General of Pakistan, and Law Minister supported the name of Justice Ayesha Malik while Justice Maqbool Baqir, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Pakistan Bar Council Representative, and former Supreme Court Judge Justice (Retd) Dost Mohammad voted against her appointment in the Supreme Court.
Details relay that legal experts say that under the constitution, her name cannot go ahead unless the majority approves it, so technically Justice Ayesha Malik’s name has been rejected. If her name had been approved in the Judicial Commission meeting she would have been the first female judge to be appointed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Sources say that the Attorney General suggested in the meeting that judgment and record of women judges of other high courts should also be sought and the matter should be referred for the next meeting. However, so far, no agreement has been reached.
It should be noted that the appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik in the Supreme Court was also protested by the lawyers. Various bar councils members are of the view that the seniority principle was not taken into account in the appointment.
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