President names Justice Dogar as senior-most judge in updated IHC seniority list

President Asif Ali Zardari has declared Justice Sarfaraz Dogar as the 'senior-most judge' of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a revised seniority list released by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The Supreme Court's decision on June 19 affirmed the constitutionality of transferring IHC judges and referred the issue of seniority determination to the president. The transfer of three judges to the IHC earlier this year had disrupted the seniority list.

Five IHC judges challenged the SC's ruling upholding the transfer of three judges from other high courts. Justice Dogar was ranked as the most senior judge in the latest seniority list, with Justice Soomro and Justice Asif placed 9th and 11th, respectively.

President Zardari confirmed the permanent status of the transfer of all three judges. The controversy arose when five IHC judges raised concerns about the seniority ranking of transferred judges under the Constitution.

According to the petition, the seniority of transferred judges should be based on the date they took oath as IHC justices, placing them lower in the seniority list. The five judges also did not attend Justice Dogar's oath-taking as the acting IHC chief justice.

According to the source: Dawn.