CJI Gogoi, Justice (Retd.) Lokur attend swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa

As Asif Saeed Khan Khosa took oath as the 26th Chief Justice of Pakistan on Friday, it is reported that among other foreign dignitaries, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and former judge of the Supreme Court, Madan B Lokur were present for the swearing-in ceremony..Justice Lokur is reported to have sat on a bench along with newly sworn-in Chief Justice Khosa and his fellow judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, while it heard a few matters after the ceremony..Also sitting with the Bench were Narin Ferin Sefik, President of the Supreme Court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; Kashim Zannah, Chief Judge of the State of Borno, Nigeria; and Sandra E Oxner, former judge and founding President of Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Canada..Reports had surfaced earlier this month that Justice Lokur would attend the swearing-in ceremony for Justice Khosa, given their long-standing friendship. Justice Khosa and Justice Lokur are said be friends since 2004, when Justice Khosa was in the Lahore High Court and Justice Lokur was a judge of the Delhi High Court..When asked whether he considers his attendance for the ceremony an extraordinary gesture, Justice Lokur told the Indian Express that “Justice knows no boundaries”. Accompanying Justice Lokur in yesterday’s swearing in ceremony was his wife, Savita Lokur..It is also reported that this is not the first time that Justice Lokur has attended the swearing-in ceremony of a Pakistani Chief Justice. Justice Lokur was in attendance five years ago when former Pakistan Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani was administered the oath of office..Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa succeeds Chief Justice Saqib Nisar. Notably, Justice Khosa was one of the judges sacked during the tenure of General Pervez Musharraf in November 2007, when the Pakistani Constitution was suspended and a state of Emergency was declared. After Justice Khosa refused to retake an oath in tune with the Provisional Constitutional Order introduced at the time, Musharraf suspended him from office along with then Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other senior judges..Justice Khosa was reinstated as a judge of the High Court in August 2008, following a lawyers’ movement to restore deposed judges. In 2010, he was elevated as judge of the Supreme Court. Among other high-profile cases, Justice Khosa also sat on the Bench which passed the acquittal judgment in the Asia Bibi blasphemy case which captured international attention. His appointment as the 26th Chief Justice of Pakistan was approved by President Arif Alvi on January 2. Justice Khosa’s tenure as the Chief Justice will end on December 20, this year.