Falak Sher (justice)
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Falak Sher () is a former justice of
Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...
and a former Chief Justice of
Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
.


Life

Sher was born on 22 September 1943 in
Hafizabad Hafizabad ( Punjabi / ; ; ) is a city and capital of Hafizabad District located in Punjab, Pakistan. Hafizabad is an old settlement. In 327 BC, during Alexander's invasion of Punjab, the territory of the Sandal Bar was reported to be a well popu ...
(District Gujranwala), Pakistan. He gained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in 1964 from Government College University Lahore and
Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
in 1966 from University Law College, Lahore. He was
called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1972 by
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
. He is married and has three children.


Professional career

Mr. Sher joined legal profession as an Advocate of the Courts subordinate to the Lahore High Court in 1966. He was admitted to the rolls of Advocates of the Lahore High Court in 1969 and admitted to the rolls of Advocates for the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1975. Upon call to the English Bar was appointed as Legal Advisor to the British Ministry of Health and Social Security in London. Mr. Sher has been a visiting Lecturer in English Jurisprudence at University Law College for over a decade. He also has been guest speaker in Administrative Law at the National Institute of Public Administration, Lahore as well as at the Pakistan Administrative Staff College, Lahore. Mr. Falak Sher remained in legal practice from 1966 till 1987, except for the time (1969–1972) that he spent at Gray's Inn. He was appointed as judge of Lahore High Court on 11 March 1987. He was appointed as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court on 14 July 2000. From the position of Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Falak Sher was appointed as Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan 6 July 2002. Justice Sher was deposed from the bench on 3 November 2007 as result of Martial Law in Pakistan. He reached age superannuation on 22 September 2008 while still being deposed. On 12 April 2009 Justice Falak was symbolically restored to his position on 2 November 2007, but since he had reached the age of superannuation he remained retired from the bench.


Deposition and restoration

On 3 November 2007 Chief of Army Staff in Pakistan declared
emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
and issued a
Provisional Constitutional Order The Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) is an emergency and extra-constitutional order that suspends either wholly or partially the Constitution of Pakistan — the supreme law of the land. The PCO acts as a temporary order while the constitu ...
. A seven-member panel of
Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...
, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (; born 12 December 1948) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 20th Chief Justice of Pakistan over three non-consecutive terms from 29 June 2005 to 11 December 2013. Chaudhry began practice as an advocate of the S ...
and consisting of Justice
Rana Bhagwandas Rana Bhagwandas (20 December 1942 – 23 February 2015) was a Pakistani jurist who served as a senior judge and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (CJP). He enjoyed extremely high reputation as a judge. He remained the acting CJP du ...
, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice Raja Muhammad Fayyaz Ahmad, and Justice Ghulam Rabbani (Judge Supreme Court), Ghulam Rabbani, issued an order that declared the declaration of emergency as illegal and prohibited all judges to take oath on any PCO. Justice Falak Sher acted as per decision of the Supreme Court and refused to take oath on PCO. He was offered to take oath on PCO and become the Chief Justice of Pakistan but he remained steadfast on his resolution not to take oath on PCO. As the consequence of it, on 4 December 2007, he was declared to be no longer a justice of court and declared to be considered as retired with effect from 3 November 2007 without any retirement benefits. On 12 April 2009 President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari restored Justice Falak Sher to his 2 November 2007 position. This restoration was for the purpose that the retired judges may draw their salaries and other benefits during the intervening period as per their entitlement in accordance with the law.


Important cases


Controversies


Oath on Provisional Constitutional Order 1999

Justice Falak Sher as a sitting judge of Lahore High Court took oath on PCO 1999.


Seniority issue as Justice

The Chief Justice of Pakistan is generally appointed on basis of his seniority. Justice Falak Sher was appointed a judge of Lahore High Court on 11 March 1987 and elevated to Supreme Court on 6 July 2002. After retirement of Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, by virtue of being the longest serving justice on the Supreme Court bench at the time, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was appointed as next Chief Justice. Justice Iftikhar was appointed a justice of High Court of Balochistan in 1999 and was elevated to Supreme Court on 4 February 2000. Justice Sher maintained that he was senior to Justice Chaudhry based on their respective elevation to High Courts and should be appointed as Chief Justice of Pakistan. On appointment of Justice Chaudhry as Chief Justice, he petitioned the President of Pakistan on that account for which no decision was made. During the hearing of the Presidential reference against Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Falak Sher declined to sit on the full bench hearing the case. He stated that "On account of seniority and being the senior-most judge in the country, it would be improper for me to hear a case in which the chief justice is a party, who like other judges of the Supreme Court is junior to me from four to nine years".


See also

*
Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
*
Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sher, Falak People from Hafizabad District Chief justices of the Lahore High Court Members of Gray's Inn 1943 births Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan