ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday nominated Justice Aalia Neelum as the new chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC), making her the first woman to be nominated for the post, local media widely reported.
The office of the LHC’s chief justice became vacant after Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan was elevated to the Supreme Court on June 7.
Justice Shujaat Ali Khan is the senior most puisne judge of the LHC with Justice Neelum coming in at number three. Although it is not a constitutional requirement to nominate the senior puisne judge of a high court as chief justice, it is very rare that a junior judge is appointed to the post rather than the senior one.
Her nomination to the post was decided unanimously after a meeting of the JCP chaired by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa was held earlier on Tuesday, local media reported.
“Congratulations to Justice Aalia Neelum for her nomination as new Lahore High Court Chief Justice,” former Pakistani minister Sherry Rehman wrote on social media platform X.
“She will be the first woman to hold this position.”
Justice Neelum will be appointed officially to the post after the parliamentary committee on judges appointment greenlights the JCP’s nomination.
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Justice Neelum was born on Nov. 12, 1966. She secured her LL.B. degree from the University of Punjab in 1995 and enrolled as an advocate on February 1, 1996.
She was elevated to the LHC’s bench on April 12, 2013, and has rendered numerous reported judgments on numerous important issues.
“Her area of practice and consultancy covered Constitutional Law, White-Collar Crime, Civil, Criminal, Anti Terrorism laws, NAB, Banking Offences, Special Central Courts Law, and Banking Laws,” the LHC said on its website.
Justice Neelum also prepared the standing operating procedures (SOPs) for recording evidence during trials in e-courts in Punjab. These sops are now implemented in trial courts across Punjab, the LHC said.
