A resolution asking for the dissolution of the SC’s larger bench is adopted by the NA.
The concern is expressed in the resolution on the exclusion of senior judges from the enlarged bench.
The Supreme Court’s eight-judge larger bench was established by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to hear petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practise and Procedure) Bill, 2023, and was unanimously dissolved by the National Assembly on Thursday.
Agha Rafiullah, a PPP MNA, introduced the motion during the lower house of the Parliament’s session, which was presided over by Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf. A majority of voters decided to accept the proposal.
The eight-member panel, which did not include two senior judges from the supreme court, was rejected by the house, according to the resolution.
According to the resolution, the house views the Supreme Court’s ruling with “concern” and that Parliament alone is responsible for drafting the constitution.
The Supreme Court (Practise and Procedure) Bill was handled improperly, according to the resolution, which accused the high court of issuing “unfair decisions”.
Concern was expressed concerning the absence of senior judges from the larger bench. The National Assembly has urged that the bench be dissolved in light of these complaints.
The National Assembly meeting was adjourned following the vote and will now take place on April 26.
The change came a day after the Chief Justice of Pakistan created an eight-judge bigger bench to hear petitions filed against the Supreme Court (Practise and Procedure) Bill, 2023, which limited the chief justice’s authority to convene benches and launch suo motu proceedings.
After hearing the petitions earlier in the day, the top court sent letters to the federal government, Mansoor Awan, the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Council, political parties, and the AGP.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial announced that a written order would be given shortly by the eight-member bench as the court adjourned the session. He insisted that the case was significant because it addressed the judiciary’s independence, which had already been recognised as a fundamental right of citizens.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed make up the bigger bench in addition to the CJP.
The requests
The bill has so far been the subject of three petitions at the highest court. Citizens Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain and Raja Aamir Khan, through their attorneys Advocate Tariq Rahim and Azhar Siddique, filed two of them.
The federation, the law ministry, the senior secretaries to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Dr. Arif Alvi have all been identified as respondents in the petitions.
The petitions contend that the proposed legislation violated the Constitution in “fraudulent” and “bad faith” ways. They ask the SC to void the proposed law because it is “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
The proposed law has also been urged to be suspended, and the president has been asked to refrain from signing the bill, pending the outcome of the petition.
