ISLAMABAD – Ahead of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) full court meeting, two judges — Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz wrote letters to Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, expressing serious concerns over transparency and administrative practices in the court, a local private TV reported on Wednesdst
In a four-page letter, Justice Babar Sattar questioned whether IHC judges were fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities and whether the court had made genuine efforts to establish the district judiciary as an independent institution.
He pointed to a lack of transparency in the preparation of rosters and fixation of cases, alleging that senior judges were being sidelined while additional judges were assigned important matters.
“Should judges and the Chief Justice not remember that they are public office holders, not monarchs?” he wrote.
Justice Sattar further stated that in some instances the Chief Justice’s office had refused to issue cause lists, undermining judicial independence. He added that senior judges were excluded from the administrative committee in violation of rules, while additional and transferred judges were included.
The letter also criticized the requirement of obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) before judges could travel abroad, comparing it to placing them on the Exit Control List (ECL).
He warned that while institutions take decades to build, they can be destroyed in no time.
The copies of Justice Sattar’s letter addressed to Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar have been circulated among all judges and the registrar of the Islamabad High Court.
