The bench will convene at 11:30 am and will consist of CJP Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyad Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-April 12th, 2023) A Supreme Court eight-member bench will hear on Thursday (tomorrow) three petitions challenging a bill clipping the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP).
The bench will convene at 11:30 am and will consist of CJP Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyad Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed, according to the roster issued on Wednesday.
The cause list issued today showed that Advocate Muhammad Shafay Munir, Raja Amer Khan, Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain, and others have filed three petitions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
Article 184(3) of the Constitution empowers the SC to assume jurisdiction in matters involving a question of “public importance” related to the “enforcement of any of the fundamental rights” of Pakistan’s citizens.
The petition filed by Advocate Munir asserted that the plea had been submitted to safeguard and secure the Constitution and independence of the judiciary. The petitioner maintained that they believed in the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary, and had consistently strived to protect the Constitution, independence of the judiciary, and fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
The respondents named in the petition include the Federal government through the secretaries of law, Senate, and National Assembly. The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, aims to strip the office of the CJP of its powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity.
It was initially passed by both houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the president sent it back, stating that the proposed law exceeded “the competence of parliament.”
On Monday, the bill was passed by a joint sitting of parliament with some amendments, amid protests from PTI lawmakers. Notably absent from the bench are Justices Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Aminuddin Khan, who had earlier ruled that the CJP did not have the authority to form special benches or select their members and ordered the postponement of all suo motu cases. The order was subsequently rescinded by a six-member larger bench. Justice Isa later stated in a judicial note that the bench did not “constitute a constitutional court.”
