Lahore High Court's Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani resigns

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Lahore High Court has resigned and sent his resignation to the president, Express News reported on Wednesday, citing a copy of the letter it said it had obtained.

Kayani had been transferred from the Islamabad High Court to the Lahore High Court and was moved to the Rawalpindi bench in the court's new roster, according to both Express News and UrduPoint. Express News reported that he stood second in seniority at the Islamabad High Court and tenth at Lahore, and had been due to retire in 2032.

According to the copy of the resignation cited by Express News, the judge gave personal reasons, health problems and what the letter described as the voice of conscience for his decision.

The letter said the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments had affected the independence of the high courts and their institutional autonomy. It said growing interference by the administration in the appointment and transfer of judges was harmful to judicial independence, and that public confidence in the judiciary and in the process of justice had been badly damaged.

The letter also said ordinary litigants were facing mounting difficulties and that people seeking justice were being ignored. "My conscience does not permit me to continue performing my duties as a judge in the present circumstances," Express News quoted the letter as saying. The judge said he would return to the practice of law to work for the protection of people's rights and to raise legal awareness.

Express News reported that Kayani had decided more than 23,000 cases during his judicial career.

Neither report said whether the president had accepted the resignation, and no date was given for when the letter was sent. Under the Constitution, a judge of a high court holds office until he resigns by writing under his hand addressed to the president.

Kayani's transfer to Lahore and his placement on the Rawalpindi bench had come in a fresh roster of judges, UrduPoint reported. The Lahore High Court and the Islamabad High Court, the two courts where he served, hear a large share of the country's constitutional and administrative litigation, including cases involving the federal government.

The resignation removes from the bench one of the judges whose career had been shaped by the recent reshuffling of judges between the high courts. It comes against a background of continuing public argument over the constitutional amendments passed by parliament and over the process by which judges are appointed and moved.