Says 26th and 27th amendments compromised high courts\u2019 independence, institutional integrity
\nLAHORE
\nJustice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Wednesday stepped down as Lahore High Court (LHC) judge, citing \u201creasons of conscience\u201d amid the \u201cexecutive\u2019s growing control over judicial institutions\u201d.
\nJustice Kayani was among three judges transferred to other high courts from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in April this year on a proposal initiated by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar.
\nA Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting, chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, approved the transfers on April 28.
\nThe commission had approved the transfer of Justice Kayani from IHC to the LHC, Justice Babar Sattar to the Peshawar High Court (PHC), and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz to the Sindh High Court (SHC), with a majority vote.
\nIn his resignation letter, a copy of which is available with Geo News, Justice Kayani said he was stepping down for \u201cpersonal reasons, including health concerns following my recent surgery\u201d, as well as reasons of conscience, which he elaborated on later in the document.
\nHe described his services at the IHC and LHC as a \u201cprivilege\u201d, saying those years of judicial service remained among the most meaningful and fulfilling of his life.
\nJustice Kayani recalled that he had disposed of more than 23,000 cases of various categories during his tenure, while working always to uphold the Constitution, safeguard fundamental rights, and administer justice without fear or favour.
\n\u201cHowever, in my considered view, the changes introduced through the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Constitutional Amendments have compromised the independence and institutional integrity of the High Courts,\u201d he said.
\nThe judge added: \u201cI have witnessed what I regard as the executive\u2019s growing control over judicial institutions, extending to the appointment and transfer of judges.\u201d
\nHe also maintained that such interference has seriously eroded public confidence in judicial independence and the fairness of the judicial process.
\nJustice Kayani raised concerns over \u201cthe plight of the ordinary litigant\u201d in the judicial system, saying their \u201csuffering continues to deepen\u201d.
\n\u201cThe needs of those seeking justice have too often been neglected, while other actors have become the beneficiaries of a system intended to serve them,\u201d he added.
\nUnder such circumstances, Justice Kayani said his conscience \u201cdoes not permit me to continue\u201d on the bench, terming it \u201ca painful decision\u201d.
\nHe said that the decision reflected his conviction that judicial office must remain inseparable from independence, fidelity to the Constitution, and the protection of human dignity.
\nThe judge also announced plans to return to legal practice, saying he intended to continue serving the people, protecting their rights, and promoting legal awareness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says 26th and 27th amendments compromised high courts\u2019 independence, institutional integrity LAHORE Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Wednesday stepped down as Lahore High Court (LHC) judge, citing \u201creasons of conscience\u201d amid the \u201cexecutive\u2019s growing control over judicial institutions\u201d. Justice Kayani was among three judges transferred to other high courts from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":105031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105051,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105025\/revisions\/105051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}