ISLAMABAD:
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has passed the buck to the committee of constitutional benches for the formation of a full court to hear petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
A three-judge committee, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justices Muhammad Ali Mazahar and Jamal Khan Mandokhail, will decide the total number of members for the constitutional bench hearing such petitions.
Interestingly, the committee itself is the creation of the amendment which is being challenged.
The judges for constitutional benches were selected by government representatives during the first meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). Likewise, two members of the constitutional bench have also supported the government’s suggestion to nominate Justice K K Agha as head of the Sindh High Court’s constitutional bench.
The government, it seems, is completely satisfied with the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, especially the head Justice Aminuddin. A debate also continues as to whether CJP Afridi could have formed a full court to hear petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, in his recent letter, noted that Clause 3 of the newly-added Article 191-A of the Constitution bars the hearing of matters specified therein by any bench of the Supreme Court other than a constitutional bench, but does not bar the full court of the Supreme Court from hearing any matter, including petitions filed under Article 184-3 of the Constitution.
“The distinction between the full court and the benches of a court is well established and explicitly recognised in Article 203J(2)(c) & (d) of the Constitution,” he wrote.
“However, if your lordship has any doubt regarding this constitutional position, the same may also be judicially decided by the full court of the SC before addressing the merits of the said petitions,” continues Justice Shah in his letter to CJP Afridi.
Meanwhile, six renowned lawyers have written letters to CJP Afridi for the formation of the full court, including former Supreme Court Bar Association presidents Hamid Khan, Muneer A Malik, Abid Zuberi, as well as ex-Sindh High Court Bar Association president Salahuddin Ahmed, Khwaja Ahmed Hosain and Zainab Janjua.
The details of their respective petitions are mentioned in which they state that the earliest such petition was presented at the registry on October 24, 2024.
“A month has passed and despite the constitutional and public urgency of the matter, the cases are not closer to being fixed for hearing. Even more surprisingly, none of the petitions were assigned a number in the registry. Also, office objections to the petitions have not been communicated by the registrar,” the lawyers note.
