LHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani resigns, says conscience does not permit him to stay on the bench
File photo of the Lahore High Court building.
LAHORE — Lahore High Court Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani resigned on Wednesday, sending his resignation to President Asif Ali Zardari and citing personal reasons, health concerns following recent surgery, and what he called reasons of conscience.
In his letter, Justice Kayani wrote that, in his considered view, the changes introduced through the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments had compromised the independence and institutional integrity of the high courts. He said he had witnessed the executive’s growing control over judicial institutions, extending to the appointment and transfer of judges, and that such interference had seriously eroded public confidence in judicial independence and the fairness of legal proceedings.
“My conscience does not permit me to continue on the bench”
Kayani described the decision as painful but consistent with his conviction that judicial office must remain inseparable from independence, fidelity to the Constitution and the protection of human dignity. He spoke, too, about the ordinary litigant — the principal stakeholder in the justice system, in his words — whose suffering, he said, continues to deepen while the needs of people seeking justice are too often neglected. Over his judicial career he disposed of more than 23,000 cases, striving, as he put it, to uphold the Constitution, safeguard fundamental rights and administer justice without fear or favour.
Transferred from Islamabad in April 2026
Kayani was transferred from the Islamabad High Court to the Lahore High Court in April 2026, where he had been the senior puisne judge, second on the seniority list. On the Lahore High Court he ranked tenth, and he was due to retire on February 11, 2032. Under a revised judges’ roster he had been assigned to the court’s Rawalpindi bench. He is the fourth senior judge to resign over the constitutional amendments, after Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Athar Minallah and Shams Mehmood Mirza, who stepped down citing similar concerns.
Kayani said he intends to return to legal practice, where he will continue serving the public, protecting citizens’ rights and promoting legal awareness. He thanked his teachers, fellow judges and family for their guidance and support.
