ABDUL RASHID KHAN And Others vs SWAT TEXTILE MILLS LTD. HARIPUR

This matter originated as a petition for leave to appeal against an order passed by the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, which transferred a pending writ petition from the Abbottabad Bench to the principal seat at Peshawar. The core legal question before the Supreme Court was whether the Chief Justice possessed the authority to transfer proceedings between different Benches of the High Court. Upon review, the Supreme Court held that the impugned transfer order was legally valid and fully justified. The Court relied on Rule 7 of the Peshawar High Court (Establishment of Benches) Rules, 1982, which explicitly empowers the Chief Justice to transfer any proceedings pending at the principal seat or a Bench to another Bench or the principal seat of the High Court. Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for leave to appeal, affirming that the Chief Justice's administrative power to manage the distribution of cases and transfer proceedings between Benches is clearly established by the relevant rules governing the establishment of Benches within the High Court.