Srinagar: A senior advocate Javed Iqbal Wani was appointed as judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court by government of India. This comes after a gap of seven years that a lawyer from Kashmir has been appointed High Court judge.
The Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday issued a notification for appointment of Javed Iqbal Wani as judge of the Common High Court for J&K and Ladakh Union Territories. “In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Javed Iqbal Wani, to be a Judge of Common High Court for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office,” reads the notification.
Wani is son-in-law of Kashmir High Court Bar Association president, Mian Abdul Qayoom, who was booked under the Public Safety Act last year in August and is lodged in Tihar Jail.
A gold medallist from Kashmir University, Wani started practice in the High Court since 1990.
He also served as additional advocate general of Jammu and Kashmir High Court for nearly 11 months in 2019. As a lawyer, he also represented different state government departments in the court.
After being recommended by J&K High Court’s Collegium last year, the Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held in January this year approved the proposal for his elevation.
With the issuance of warrant of appointment in favour of Wani, the strength of judges in J&K High Court has reached 13.
This is for the first time after 2013 that a Kashmiri has been elevated as judge of the High Court from Bar Association quota. In the past seven years, the recommendation of J&K High Court for appointing several lawyers as judges faced roadblocks.
The last such appointment was made in 2013 when Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey was appointed as judge of the High Court.
Before him, Justice (retd) Muzaffar Hussain Attar, Justice (retd) Nisar Ahmad Kakru, Justice(retd.) B.A . Khan, Justice (retd) Bilal Ahmed Nazki and Justice (retd) Ali Muhammad Mir were elevated as judges of the High Court from the Bar quota. KNO

KR Desk