By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Umar Ata Bandial, to step down amid a growing standoff with the judiciary after a judicial note from Justice Athar Minallah was made public on Friday.
The demand was also echoed by PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz.
Justice Minallah issued a 25-page dissenting note on the suo motu notice regarding holding elections in Punjab province, further deepening the fault lines between the judiciary and the government.
Justice Minallah raised questions about the judicial process during a suo motu case on the Punjab poll and stated that the way the proceedings were initiated had unnecessarily exposed the court to political controversies.
The Justice agreed with dissenting notes of Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Jamal Khan Mandokhail, who previously wrote notes on the case, stating that the suo motu case was dismissed with a 4-3 ruling.
A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar had announced the verdict on the PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) move to postpone the Punjab Assembly polls till October 8. The bench ordered Punjab polls on May 14.
This ruling was rejected by the government, who labeled it a “minority verdict,” with the National Assembly also passing a resolution against the top court.
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been pushing for early polls and demanding that instead of delaying the Punjab elections, the national assembly should be dissolved, and general elections called in the country.
A complaint has also been filed against the CJP before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for alleged misconduct by the country’s top judge. Advocate Raja Sibtain Khan accused the CJP of misconduct and sought a probe into the initiation of suo motu proceedings on KP, Punjab elections, and the constitution of a bench for the purpose.
The complaint alleged that the CJP created a grouping within the SC by keeping four judges and was guilty of misconduct by luring those judges for his own personal motives and benefits. The complaint claimed that the CJP should be removed from office immediately, as he had allegedly compromised his oath, relevant constitutional provisions, and the dictum on the subject settled by the Supreme Court.
The complaint further stated that the CJP allegedly constituted a bench according to the grouping so that he might be able to score a majority order in the suo motu case on the KP, Punjab elections, and other two constitutional petitions, which violated Article 10-A and jeopardized the constitutional and fundamental rights of the people.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said a bench was formed on a petition that was dismissed and questioned how a decision could be given on a petition that did not exist. “His (Chief Justice Bandial) position has become controversial,” she said. “Athar Minallah’s decision not only raises a question on court proceedings, but it also categorically states that he had not distanced, recused, or disassociated himself from the bench. Justice Minallah had agreed with the verdict issued by his brother judges and declared the case to be inadmissible.”
Observers said Justice Minallah’s dissenting note has given the government an opportunity to exert more pressure on the apex court to accept its demand to set up a full court to decide the election date in Punjab province.
They said the decision given by Justice Minallah has put a question mark on the judicial process, as a three-member bench led by CJP was formed on the petition that was already dismissed by four judges.
Minister Aurangzeb reiterated that political parties do not run away from elections and emphasised that the Punjab polls case issue was no longer limited to elections as it has become a matter of “bench fixing”, among other things.
“Who would trust a decision if the constitutional crisis arises from the apex court itself? Abuse of powers and arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution cannot be accepted.”
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