The inside story of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges’ full court meeting has come to light, where the judges approved practice and procedure rules and establishment rules by a narrow majority vote, sources said.
According to sources, both sets of rules were passed with a 6–5 majority. Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro voted in favour, along with Justice Azam Khan, Justice Muhammad Asif, and Justice Inam Amin Minhas.
Those opposing the approval included Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Justice Babar Sattar, while Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz also voted against, sources said.
The sources revealed that before the approval of the agenda, no debate was allowed.
A letter from two judges seeking amendments to the agenda was rejected, while another judge demanded postponement of the full court session, arguing that more time should be given to study the practice and procedure as well as establishment rules.
Despite these objections, the majority vote approved the rules.
Meanwhile, the first two items on the agenda were passed unanimously. The first related to the powers of family court judges, and the second concerned issues related to the IHC building. Both items were adopted with consensus.
