Freshly transferred Justices Sattar, Kayani to hear cases at PHC, LHC from coming week

PESHAWAR/ LAHORE: Justices Babar Sattar and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will begin presiding over proceedings at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and Lahore High Court (LHC), respectively, in the coming week following their recent transfers from the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Their transfers, along with that of IHC judge Saman Rafat Imtiaz to the Sindh High Court, were approved by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on April 28 and notified by the law ministry on April 29 amid criticism from lawyers’ bodies.

On Thursday, the names of Justices Sattar and Kayani were included in the rosters of the high court courts to which they have been transferred.

The LHC’s revised roster for May 4 to July 4 shows that Justice Kayani will be presiding over proceedings as judge on a single bench at the court’s principal seat.

The roster, notified by Additional Registrar (Judicial) Shabbir Hussain Shah, shows that 27 single benches and nine division benches have been constituted at the principal seat for this period.

Meanwhile, according to the PHC’s roster for May 4-7, Justice Sattar will be presiding over proceedings as part of a division bench at the court’s principal seat on Monday.

The roster, approved by PHC Chief Justice SM Attique Shah, lists nine single benches and just one division bench, headed by Justice Wiqar Ahmad and also including Justice Sattar.

The judges were transferred under Article 200 of the Constitution. Under clause (1) of Article 200 of the Constitution, the president may transfer a high court judge from one high court to another on the recommendation of the JCP. Clause (2) provides that the seniority of a transferred judge shall be reckoned from the date of his or her initial appointment.

Justice Kayani, who was IHC’s senior puisne judge, has lost his seniority and been relegated to the 12th spot on the LHC seniority list. His transfer has also increased the number of sitting judges at the LHC to 41 against a sanctioned strength of 60.

Justice Sattar was appointed as an additional IHC judge on December 30, 2020 and confirmed as a permanent judge around a year later. He was number three in terms of seniority at the IHC. But at the PHC, he is seventh in terms of seniority.

With the transfer of Justice Sattar, the number of judges in the PHC has risen to 21 against the sanctioned strength of 30.

In its April 28 meeting, the JCP also decided that any vacancy arising as a result of the transfer of judges from the IHC would be filled through transfer only, and such slots would not be treated as vacancies for initial appointment.

Subsequently, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had expressed reservations over the transfers and demanded that the transfer of a judge from any other high court to the PHC should be made on a reciprocal basis. The council believed that the reciprocal transfer of judges would neither affect the overall strength of the PHC judges nor would it affect the rights of the province.

Transfer of judges

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, who also serves as chairman of the JCP, had earlier raised serious constitutional concerns over the prospect of transferring judges from the IHC.

In his response to informal requests by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, the CJP had warned that such transfers could undermine federalism and equitable representation, reducing judicial appointments to temporary and reversible administrative decisions.

The transfers from the IHC follow an amendment to Article 200 of the Constitution, which empowers the JCP to recommend such transfers without requiring the consent of the judges concerned.

Prior to the amendment, introduced through the 27th Constitution Amendment, a judge’s consent was mandatory for transfer from one high court to another. The revised provision has now vested this authority in the JCP.

It also stipulates that a judge who refuses to accept a transfer may face proceedings under Article 209 before the Supreme Judicial Council.

The transferred judges were among the six who had, in a startling letter written to SJC members in March 2024, accused the country’s intelligence apparatus of interference in judicial affairs, including attempts to pressure judges through abduction and torture of their relatives and secret surveillance inside their homes.

They were also among the five judges who had formally opposed in February 2025 the then-potential transfer of then-LHC Justice Dogar, warning that his elevation as the IHC chief justice would violate constitutional procedures and judicial norms.

Nevertheless, Justice Dogar was appointed as the acting IHC chief justice on Feb 13, 2025. The next day, he took the oath in a ceremony where all IHC judges were invited, but five of them — including those being transferred — did not attend the ceremony and boycotted it.

Following the development, the IHC went through a major administrative restructuring, which notably reduced the authority of senior puisne judge Justice Kayani — who previously held key decision-making roles — following amendments to the high court rules.

The IHC Administration Com­mittee, previously comprising the chief justice, the senior puisne judge and a senior judge, was restructured to include CJ Dogar and two of his nominees. This reconstitution significantly altered the court’s decision-making authority.

Justice Dogar later took his oath as the IHC CJ on July 8, 2025. And the five IHC senior judges who had opposed his transfer were sidelined in the subsequent reshuffling of key committees.

In September last year, the five judges had submitted separate petitions to the Supreme Court together against a number of issues affecting the court, from the composition of benches to rosters to case transfers.