Ruling Coalition Urges SC to ‘Maintain Balance’ & Dissolve Bench

Islamabad: Leaders of the ruling coalition on Thursday denounced the formation of a Supreme Court bench that is currently hearing pleas against pending legislation that seeks to curtail the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, calling the move “premature” and urging for the bench’s dissolution in light of the ongoing legislative process.

Prior to their appearance at a press conference, the ruling coalition released a joint statement earlier in the day condemning the composition of the bench, and describing it as “controversial” and “unacceptable.” They cited previous cases where similar concerns were raised and urged the apex court to reconsider its decision to form the current bench.

They said that “such a move was never seen in the history of Pakistan and the SC”.

An eight-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by the chief justice, is currently hearing three petitions that challenge the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which seeks to strip the office of the CJP of the power to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity, after it was passed by parliament and sent to the President for his assent, but was returned for being “beyond the competence of parliament”.

The bill was later passed by a joint sitting of parliament with certain amendments on Monday, amidst a noisy protest from PTI lawmakers.

In a presser on Thursday, the ruling coalition leaders — which included members of the PML-N, PPP, MQM-P, ANP and other allied parties — put a united front against the bench in what they alleged was in defiance of legal principles.

Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar insisted that the current situation was “very alarming”, alleging a “selective bench” had been formed in disregard of the rules.

“Two senior judges have not been included in the bench that has been made after a pick and choose,” the minister added, referring to Justices Qazi Faez Isa and Sardar Tariq Masood, the senior-most judges after the Chief Justice.

The minister expressed concern about the lack of representation from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan among the judges on the bench.

Tarar said that a “conflict of interest” exists as the case involved the Chief Justice’s own powers, and all propriety rules prohibited Justice Bandial from leading the bench. - Dawn

Ruling Coalition Urges SC to ‘Maintain Balance’ & Dissolve Bench

Courtesy Dawn

Back to Pakistanlink Home