Deposed HC judges to be elevated to SC

LAHORE - Deposed judge of the Lahore High Court Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif has denied the news that he has consented to take fresh oath as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Talking to The Nation, he said no one from government side has contacted him to take fresh oath as SC judge. He added that if such a situation arises he would himself make it public.
Responding to a question, he said when a judge of a high court is elevated to Supreme Court, he has to take fresh oath and there is no point of reappointment in it. He, however, sidestepped the question whether he would accept such an offer or not.
He said he would take a decision after having consultations with his colleagues and lawyers’ leadership. He said the lawyers had rendered countless sacrifices for rule of law and independence of judiciary in the country and he would never betray them.
Earlier, the different private news channels run the news that Justice Khawaja had accepted the government offer to take fresh oath as a SC judge and he would take oath in a couple of days.
Justice Khawaja is the senior most among the ten judges who did not take oath under November 3 PCO. However, four of them had accepted their reappointment with original seniority while one deposed judge had retired on August 17 on attaining superannuation.
The lawyers have expressed the hope that Justice Khawaja Sharif would not follow the footsteps of his other colleagues because taking fresh oath would amount to accepting November 3 unconstitutional steps as constitutional and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar as constitutional chief justice of the country.
Special Report from Islamabad adds: The government has decided to appoint three senior non-functional High Court judges in the Supreme Court whereas three other deposed judges will take their oath immediately after the swearing-in of the President.
Meanwhile, the government officials have accelerated their contacts with the deposed judges. A lawyer leader of the PPP who has been very active in the re-appointment of the non-PCO judges maintained that it was a part of the government strategy not to administer oath on the senior non-functional High Court judges and to place them in the Supreme Court instead.