Pakistan’s newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) dismissed on Monday several appeals in a high-profile case challenging the transfer of senior judges, after the petitioners failed to appear in court.

The case was heard by a six-member bench led by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan. It concerns administrative decisions affecting postings of judges in the country’s superior courts.

The FCC was created under Pakistan’s 27th Constitutional Amendment to handle constitutional matters previously managed by the Supreme Court.

Five judges of the Islamabad High Court— Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz—filed appeals challenging the transfers.

Bar associations and prominent lawyers, as well as former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, also submitted similar petitions.

Court proceedings

On Monday, none of the petitioners or their lawyers appeared before the bench. The FCC dismissed five of nine appeals for non-prosecution.

The dismissed petitions included those from:

• Five IHC judges
• Tahir Faraz Abbasi, Advocate Supreme Court
• Karachi Bar Association
• Shoaib Shaheen, Advocate Supreme Court
• Lahore High Court Bar Association
• Other petitioners linked to Imran Khan

Imran Khan’s request denied

Imran Khan’s lawyer requested permission to meet his client to gather instructions before filing further arguments, citing Article 187 of the Constitution.

Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan rejected the request, advising the lawyer to approach the trial court instead.

Some petitioners received limited relief. The Lahore High Court Bar Association was allowed extra time to file written objections, while Imran Khan and Raja Muqsit Nawaz Khan were permitted to submit additional documents later.