The Peshawar High Court (PHC, Urdu: عدالتِ عالیہ پشاور) is the provincial and highest judicial institution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It is located in the provincial capital Peshawar. The Parliament passed a bill extending the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court (SC) and the Peshawar High Court to Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), one of a handful of reforms paving the way for a merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[1]
History
During the last days of the 19th century, the viceroy of India Lord Curzon (1899–1905), proposed the creation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province (then NWFP) which was approved by the Secretary of State for India, Lord George F. Hamilton, on 20 December 1900.[2]
The province was formally founded on 9 November 1901, (the King's birthday) had to get one Judicial Commissioner. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Law and Justice Regulation No. VII of 1901 was enacted by the Governor-General-in-Council, under section 3 of the Government of India Act, 1854, in order to establish judicial institutions.[2]
Current formation
The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 provides that Peshawar High Court shall have a Bench each at Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan. Article 199 of the Constitution lays down in detail the jurisdiction of the High Court. The jurisdiction was more or less the same as provided under the Constitution of 1956 and further detailed under the Constitution of 1962.[2]
The Constitution of Pakistan, 1956, Article 170, states that:
"Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 22, each High Court shall have power throughout the territories in relation to which it exercise jurisdiction, to issue to any person or authority, including in appropriate cases any Government directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part II and for any other purpose."[2]
Justices of Peshawar High Court
High Court is headed by a Chief Justice. The bench consist of Justices and additional judges. 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 Acting Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court is Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.
Current composition
The Peshawar High Court is currently made up of the following Justices (in order of seniority).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa