By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan will lead an eight-judge bench to hear three petitions on Thursday, challenging a pending legislation aimed at curbing the powers of the country’s top judge. However, the move has been opposed by the legal community which argues that the Supreme Court should not take up petitions against a proposed law that has yet to be passed.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) called for a nationwide boycott of courts on Thursday, citing concerns over the composition of the bench, which it describes as “one-sided and controversial”. The PBC has also expressed strong reservations about the selection of judges for this bench, which it believes is an attempt to regulate the discretionary powers of the Chief Justice.
The bench, which comprises of Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed, has been criticized for not including the two senior-most judges, namely Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, in larger bench hearings of politically sensitive cases. The PBC has announced a complete strike and boycott of court proceedings throughout the country in protest the SC hearing.
PBC Executive Committee Chairman Hasan Raza Pasha has noted that the legislation for regulating the Chief Justice’s powers was carried out on the bar’s demand. Even Hamid Khan, the head of the Professional Group, has called for an end to the perception that only “like-minded” judges are included in a larger bench.
Meanwhile, PBC member Amjad Shah has warned that the Supreme Court will be responsible if the parliamentary system in the country derails, as he believes that this is not an issue of the rule of law but a “war for supremacy” where everything is fair to achieve the desired objective.
Advocate Mirza Moiz Baig has raised concerns about the Chief Justice’s “unfettered” powers to constitute benches and has warned that excluding senior judges from the bench will only accentuate the divide within the top court.
Baig has also pointed out that Article IV of the judges’ code of conduct restrains them from acting in a matter that involves their own interest, and therefore judges who are not expected to serve as Chief Justice during their tenures should hear the challenge to the bill.
The eight-member bench will consider the petitions challenging the SC (Practice & Procedure) Bill, 2023, which President Arif Alvi has already returned once after it was passed by both houses of parliament, and it was again passed by a joint session of parliament. The latest petitions argue that the concept, preparation, endorsement and passing of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 is an act tainted with mala fide. Therefore, petitions urge the SC to strike it down after declaring it to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
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