ISLAMABAD: Justice Umar Ata Bandial of the Supreme Court will take oath as next chief justice next month as the incumbent top judge will hang his robe on February 1.
Seven judges of the higher courts including Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed will retire in 2022. These include five judges of the apex court and two justices of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Justice Bandial will take the oath of office on February 2.
The Supreme Court judges retire after reaching the age of 65 years while the high court judges leave the office at 62.
After Justice Ahmed, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed of the Supreme Court will retire next on March 5, Justice Maqbool Baqar on April 4, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel on July 13 and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah on August 13.
Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem of Lahore High Court will hand his robe on June 30, and Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangir will retire on December 2.
There was one seat of judge vacant at the Supreme Court while 12 seats were vacant at the Lahore High Court at the moment.