Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed (1949–2009) was a former Chief Justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of the Sindh High Court

Sindh High Court

The High Court of Sindh is the highest judicial institution of Sindh province. Established in 1906, it is situated at provincial capital Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in civil and criminal matters, the Court was the District Court and the Court of Session in...

 and a justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

Supreme Court of Pakistan

The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...

.

Early life and education

Ahmed was born in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Sindh

is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...

, Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 in 1949 to senior civil officer Wajihuddin Ahmed and Atiya Bano. He was the oldest of five siblings, following him were Mehrunissa Ahmad Ali, Aminuddin Ahmed, Lalarukh Jamil and Nooruddin Ahmed. He passed his MA from the University of Punjab, Lahore in 1969 and his LLB from the University of Karachi

University of Karachi

The University of Karachi is a public university located in Karachi, Pakistan. It serves an on-campus student population of more than 24,000. According to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, it is ranked among the top three universities of the country...

.

Family

He is survived by his wife Nelofer Ahmed, daughter and journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 Sanaa Ahmed, son and barrister Salahuddin Ahmed and son Rameezuddin Ahmed, who is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree from Canada. His grandfather was Maulana Salahuddin Ahmed, a prolific Urdu writer and editor of the Urdu literary magazine Adabi Dunya. Amongst his cousins are the human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 activists and sisters, Hina Jillani and Asma Jehangir and also activist Nigar Ahmad. Interestingly his son Salahuddin is a partner in Munir A. Malik

Munir A. Malik

Munir A. Malik is a prominent Pakistani lawyer and key leader of the Lawyers' Movement in Pakistan. He is the former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan...

's law firm, the same law firm Sabihuddin was a partner of before he became a judge.

Career

He joined the profession in 1972, working under his maternal uncle Khalid M. Ishaq

Khalid M. Ishaq

Khalid Muhammad Ishaq , Senior Advocate Supreme Court, was an eminent Pakistani jurist and scholar of law, Islamic studies and literature.-Education:...

. He was a founder member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan , or HRCP, is an independent, non-profit organization, founded in 1987, which is not associated or affiliated with the government or any political party. It is committed to act with impartiality and objectivity in all matters...

 (HRCP) and its first vice chairperson for Sindh.

Sindh High Court

Ahmed was elevated to the bench on 11 January 1997. He resigned from the HRCP at that time. During the same year, he gave a landmark judgement regarding monetary compensation to a detenu in a habeas corpus petition.

Supreme Court of Pakistan

He was elevated to the Supreme Court during the regime of President

President of Pakistan

The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...

 Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...

but refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). Once a democratic government was restored, he took the oath and served from September 19, 2008 until his death on April 18, 2009.