The Federal Constitutional Court on Monday dismissed the intra-court appeals filed by five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the judges’ transfer case after their counsel failed to appear, resulting in the appeals being dropped for non-prosecution.
A six-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan heard the appeals challenging an earlier decision that upheld the transfers of Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar and other judges. The bench also included Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Justice KK Agha, Justice Rozi Khan, and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah.
When proceedings began, senior lawyer Munir A. Malik—representing the five IHC judges—did not appear, prompting the court to dismiss the appeal due to non-pursuit.
The Karachi Bar Association and a former president of the Islamabad Bar Association also faced dismissal of their appeals after their counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, did not attend the hearing.
For the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association, senior lawyer Hamid Khan was absent. However, his associate Ajmal Toor sought an adjournment, which the court granted, postponing their appeals indefinitely.
Counsel for the PTI founder, Idrees Ashraf, appeared and informed the court that his client remained in Adiala Jail and that he needed time to obtain instructions and file additional submissions. He noted that while the team had earlier challenged the short order, the detailed judgment now required further arguments.
Ashraf urged the court to exercise Article 187, which relates to complete justice, to allow access to his client for instructions. Justice Aminuddin Khan responded that the constitutional court could not issue such directions and that only the sentencing court had the authority to do so.
Even so, the bench accepted his request for time and adjourned the PTI founder’s appeal sine die.
