The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in civil and criminal matters, the Court was the District Court and the Court of Session in Karachi.

History

On 21 August 1926, the Sindh Courts Act (Bom. VII of 1926) was passed into law-making provision for the establishment of a Chief Court for the Province of Sindh. On the coming into operation of Part III of the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Act, 1935, on 1 April 1937, Sindh became a separate Province and the Judges of the Court of Judicial Commissioner of Sindh were appointed by Royal Warrant by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

. At the time of establishment of the High Court of

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

the number of the Judges of the

Bench was almost the same but subsequently it was increased to 15 and on separation of

Balochistan High Court The Balochistan High Court ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of Balochistan, Pakistan. The court is formally known as the High Court of Balochistan. It is situated in the provincial capital, Quetta. Mir Ali Dost Bugti was the firs ...

's 12 Judges were allocated to the Sindh High Court and 3 Judges to

. The present approved strength of Judges is 28. However, the number of Judges appointed is 24.

Building Complex

The construction of existing main building was commenced in 1923, at an estimated cost of Rs. 39,75,248 but it was completed on 22-11-1929, at actual cost of Rs. 30,35,000. This building which was meant for 5 Judges with some provision for expansion in 1929 is now accommodating Benches in, Court Rooms and 18 Judges in Chambers. Some Judges have to hold Courts in Chambers. Besides, it also provides accommodation for the offices of the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Deputy Attorney-General,

Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in 1980 during the go ...

Registry, Advocate-General,

, Additional Advocate General,

, Assistant Advocate General,

and High Court Bar Library. Before shifting

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Registry from High Court premises two Court rooms and three Chambers were used by the Supreme Court Judges. When the

comes to

in bigger strength some more chambers were provided to the Judges of the

. In 1974, An Annexe Building on the North-East side of the compound of the High Court was constructed at a cost of Rs. 4.4 million but it did not ease the situation much, for it is accommodating the offices of this Court and also provides office accommodation for the Secretary, Ministry of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Standing Counsel, Official Assignee, Special Banking Court, Registry of the Federal Shariat Court and Sindh Bar Council. Thus, it will be seen that there is acute shortage of accommodation. The provincial Government has allocated a token amount of Rs. One Lac during the current year for construction of Annexe Building of South-East of the present building in order to make the scheme as ongoing scheme. The building was estimated in 1984 to cost a sum of Rs. 13.35 million. The cost now may go up slightly because of inflation. Unless the Federal Government provides funds or the Provincial Government give preference to the construction of this building and provide necessary funds, the building is not going to be completed within a year or two.

Bench

High Court of Sindh consists of a Chief Justice and 27 other Judges. A Judge of the High Court is appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the Governor of the Province and the Chief Justice of the High Court in which appointment is to be made. No person is appointed as a Judge of the High Court unless he is a citizen of Pakistan having forty years and has been an advocate of the High Court or has held a judicial office for ten years and has for a period of not less than three years served as or exercised the functions of a District Judge in Pakistan. A Judge of a High Court holds office until he attains the age of sixty-two years, unless he sooner resigns or is removed from office in accordance with the Constitution. The principal seat of the High Court of Sindh is at Karachi with a Bench at

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

Sukkur Sukkur (; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 14th largest city ...

and

Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site ...

The High Court may have more Benches at other places as the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

on the advice of the Cabinet and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court may determine Jurisdiction.

PC0 25 March 1981

*Agha Ali Hyder-not offered oath under PCO as chief justice of Sindh High Court; took oath under PCO as judge of Federal Shariat Court *Abdul Hayee Qureshi took oath under PCO *Abdul Hafeez Memon did not take oath under PCO * Zaffar Hussain Mirza took oath under PCO *Naimuddin Ahmed took oath under PCO *S.A. Nusrat took oath under PCO *G. M. Shah did not take oath under PCO *Ajmal Mian took fresh oath as new judge under PCO *Muhammad Zahoor-ul-Haq took fresh oath as new judge under PCO *Sajjad Ali Shah took fresh oath as new judge under PCO *Ghous Ali Shah took oath under PCO *Dr. Tanzil-ur-Rehman took fresh oath as new judge under PCO *

Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui Saeed Uz Zaman Siddiqui ( Urdu: ; 1 December 1939 – 11 January 2017) (pronunciation 'sa'eed -uz- zam'an'; alternatively Saiduzzaman Siddiqui) was a Pakistani jurist and legislator of great prominence who formerly served as the 15th Chief J ...

took fresh oath as new judge under PCO *Ghulam Muhammad Kourejo took oath under PCO *Nasir Aslam Zahid took fresh oath as new judge under PCO *K. A. Ghani took oath under PCO * Saleem Akhtar took fresh oath as new judge under PCO

PC0 26 January 2000

*Nazim Hussain Siddiqi take oath under PCO was chief justice * Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary take oath under PCO *Ghous Mohammed Not invited to take oath/ cease to hold office *Mushtaq Memon Not invited to take oath/ cease to hold office *Rasheed Rizvi Not invited to take oath/ cease to hold office *Syed Deedar Hussain take oath under PCO *

Amanullah Abbasi The Honourable Justice ( R) Amanullah Abbasi ( ur, ; 4 April 1935 – 15 August 2013), Barrister-at-Law, is one of the most respected names of Pakistani judiciary. He was a chairman of the Federal Service Tribunal, Islamabad. Justice (r) Amanul ...

take oath under PCO *Hamid Ali Mirza take oath under PCO *Hameed Dogar take oath under PCO *Syed Saeed Ashad take oath under PCO *Abdul Ghani Shaikh take oath under PCO *Mohammed Roshan Esani take oath under PCO *S. A. Sarwar take oath under PCO *Zahid Qurban Alvi, take oath under PCO *Shabir Ahmed take oath under PCO *Ata-ur-Rehman take oath under PCO *Ghulam Rabban take oath under PCO *Sarmad Jalal Usmani take oath under PCO *

Anwar Zaheer Jamali Anwar Zaheer Jamali ( ur, born 31 December 1951) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 24th Chief Justice of Pakistan. He remained in the Supreme Court from 3 August 2009 to 30 December 2016. He has also served as the Acting Chief Election ...

take oath under PCO *S. A. Rabbani take oath under PCO *M. Ashraf Leghari take oath under PCO *Wahid Bux Brohi take oath under PCO *Sabihuddin Ahmed take oath under PCO *Rana Bhagwandas take oath under PCO *

Ghulam Nabi Soomro Ghulam ( ar, غلام, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in paradise. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser ...

take oath under PCO *Mushir Alam take oath under PCO

PC0 3 November 2007

*Sabihuddin Ahmed – Did not take oath under PCO was chief justice *Sarmad Jalal Usmani -Did not take oath under PCO *

-Did not take oath under PCO *Musheer Alam -Did not take oath under PCO *Mohammad Moosa K. Legari -take oath under Pco elevated to supreme court *Zia Perwez – take oath under Pco elevated to supreme court *Afzal Soomro -take oath under PCO became chief justice *Rahmad Hussain Jaferi -Did not take oath under PCO *Azizullah Memon -take oath under PCO *Khilji Arif Hussain -Did not take oath under PCO *Ameer Hani Muslim -Did not take oath under PCO *Gulzar Ahmad -Did not take oath under PCO *Maqbool Baqar -Did not take oath under PCO *Munib Ahmad Khan -take oath under PCO *Muhammad Athar Saeed -Did not take oath under PCO *Yasmin Abbasey -take oath under PCO *Mrs Qaiser Iqbal -take oath under PCO *Ali Sain Dino Metlo-take oath under PCO *Faisal Arab – Did not take oath under PCO *Sajjad Ali Shah -Did not take oath under PCO *Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui – take oath under PCO was additional judge *Abdul Rasheed Kalwar – Did not take oath under PCO was additional judge *Salman Ansari – Did not take oath under PCO was additional judge *Arshad Siraj Memon – Did not take oath under PCO was additional judge *Zafar Ahmad Khan Sherwani – Did not take oath under PCO was additional judge *Mahmood Alam Rizvi – take oath under PCO was additional judge *Abdul Rahman Farooq Pirzada – take oath under PCO was additional judge * Additional Judges Appointed under PCO *Khawaja Naveed Ahmed *Qazi Khalid *Rana Shamim *Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan *Syed Pir Ali Shah *Bin Yamin *Arshad Noor *Dr Qamaruddin Bohra *Ghulam Dastagir Shahani *Farrukh Zia Sheikh *Abdul Qadir Khan

Reappointment of Judges

*After the general election and resignation of general musharaf ppp lead govt decided to reappoint judges under the 1973 constitution and given fresh oath some of the judges agreed to take fresh oath under constitution and reappointed on 27 August 2008 and 6 September 2008 *Reappointed in August 2008 *

– made chief justice *Khilji Arif Hussain *Ameer Hani Muslim *Faisal Arab *Sajjad Ali Shah *Abdul Rasheed Kalwar *Salman Ansari *Zafar Ahmad Khan Sherwani *Reappointed on 6 September 2008 *Sabihuddin Ahmed elevated to supreme court *Sarmad Jalal Usmani elevated to supreme court *Gulzar Ahmad *Muhammad Athar Saeed *Reappointed in December 2008 *

Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan (born 23 August 1949) a Pakistani jurist belongs to Garhi Yasin in Shikarpur District of Sindh, Pakistan. He is the son-in-law of Justice Mushtak Ali Kazi, who was a Judge of High Court of Sindh and Balochistan. Justice A ...

with original seniority- posted as Federal Secretary Law and Justice

Restoration of Judges

After the long march of lawyer and opposition parties, on 16 March 2009, the Government restored the deposed judiciary. Only two judges refused to be reappointed: Musheer Alam and Maqbool Baqar.

Former Chief Justices

* Mr. Justice Abdul Kadir Shaikh (01-12-1976 to 30-06-1979) * Mr. Justice Ahga Ali Hyder (01-07-1979 to 24-03-1981) * Mr. Justice Abdul Hayee Qureshi (25-03-1981 to 19-01-1986) * Mr. Justice Naimuddin Ahmed (21-01-1986 to 03-09-1988) * Mr. Justice

Ajmal Mian Ajmal Mian (Urdu : ) (4 July 1934 – 16 October 2017) was a Pakistani jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from 23 December 1997 to 30 June 1999. Early life and education Mian was born on 4 July 1934 ...

(04-09-1988 to 12-12-1989) * Mr. Justice

Sajjad Ali Shah Sajjad Ali Shah (born 14 August 1957) is a Pakistani jurist who has been serving as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 15 March 2017. Previously, he served as the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh ( ur ...

(13-12-1989 to 04-11-1990) * Mr. Justice

(05-11-1990 to 21-05-1992) * Mr. Justice

Nasir Aslam Zahid The Honourable Justice ( R) Nasir Aslam Zahid ( Urdu:ناصر اسلم زاہد); Barrister-at-Law, is a Pakistani judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and then a judge of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan and Su ...

(23-05-1992 to 15-04-1994) * Mr. Justice Abdul Hafeez Memon ''(Acting Chief Justice)''(16-04-1994 to 14-04-1996) * Mr. Justice

Mamoon Kazi Mamoon Kazi (1938—April 2, 2014) was a Pakistani judge. Life Since his retirement, Kazi led a quiet life in Karachi, but his name was mentioned in 2013 to be the National Accountability Bureau’s chairperson. He died on April 2, 2014, leaving ...

(15-04-1996 to 04-11-1997) * Mr. Justice

Wajihuddin Ahmed Wajihuddin Ahmed ( ur, ; born 1 December 1938) is a retired senior justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, human rights activist, and former professor of law at the Sindh Muslim Law College. Prior to be elevated as Senior Justice of the S ...

(05-11-1997 to 04-05-1998) * Mr. Justice Kamal Mansur Alam (05-05-1998 to 21-04-1999) * Mr. Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui (22-04-1999 to 03-02-2000) * Mr. Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah (04-02-2000 to 27-04-2000) * Mr. Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad (28-04-2000 to 04-04-2005) * Mr. Justice

Sabihuddin Ahmed Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed ( ur, ; 1949-2009) was a former Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and a justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Early life and education Ahmed was born in Hyderabad, Sindh in 1949 to senior civil officer Wajihuddi ...

(05-04-2005 to 03-11-2007) * Mr. Justice Afzal Soomro (03-11-2007 to 15-05-2008) * Mr. Justice Azizullah M. Memon ''(Acting Chief Justice)''(15-05-2008 to 27-08-2008) * Mr. Justice

(28-08-2008 to 02-08-2009) * Mr. Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany (03-08-2009 to 13-02-2011) * Mr. Justice Mushir Alam (14-02-2011 to 19-09-2013) * Mr. Justice Maqbool Baqar (20-09-2013 to 16-02-2015) * Mr. Justice Faisal Arab (17-02-2015 to 13-12-2015) * Mr. Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah (14-12-2015) to (15-03-2017)

Judges of Sindh High Court

High Court of Sindh is headed by a Chief Justice. The bench consist of Justices and additional judges and the retirement age of Chief Justice and Justices is 62 years. The Additional Judges are initially appointed for one year, after that their services could either be extended or they could be confirmed or they are retired. The current Chief Justice of Sindh High Court is Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh

Current Composition

References

External links

Sindh High Court
{{Judiciary of Pakistan, state=expanded Sindh law High Courts of Pakistan 1926 establishments in Asia