ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan termed Parliament supreme and upheld its Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan announced this decision of the full bench on Wednesday afternoon. According to the decision, 10 judges supported the Parliament’s decision while five judges opposed it.
The apex court gave a majority verdict that varied when deciding about different sections of the law. While the court gave an overall 10-5 majority verdict, one of the sections was upheld by 9-6 and another by 8-7.
Judges who disagreed with the majority view are Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Mazahar Naqvi, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed.
Earlier, the CJP reserved the decision and said that the decision would be announced if the full-bench development consensus in this case.
In today’s hearing, the Chief Justice of Pakistan reserved the verdict on the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, saying the Parliament and the Supreme Court could co-exist.
CJP Qazi Faez Isa said that the Parliament and Supreme Court could co-exist.
Justice Isa also said that the Parliament was not an enemy of the Supreme Court and both institutions could function simultaneously, citing the phrase “live and let live”.
“The world moves forward together, not antagonistically,” the apex judge said.
The CJP remarked this while heading the full court bench, consisting of all 15 judges of the top court, hearing a set of petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023. The proceedings, like all the previous times, are being streamed live on television.
The full court comprises Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
On Wednesday, a full-court bench of the Supreme Court continued to hear petitions against the Practice and Procedure bill for the third consecutive day, with live-streamed proceedings.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Mansoor Awan presented his arguments before the court.
The practice and procedure law, passed by parliament in April, requires a committee of three senior judges to form benches for constitutional matters and suo motu notices.
The petitioners, however, have noted it as an attempt by the government to curtail the chief justice’s powers.
Tuesday’s hearings had turned tense when the CJP stopped Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan from posing questions to lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, who was representing MQM.
SC Practice and Procedure Bill
On March 30, the Senate passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aimed to limit the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notices and exercise discretion in forming benches.
The bill specified that a committee consisting of the CJP and the two most senior judges would constitute benches for cases in the apex court, making decisions by a majority voteIt also required that any matter invoking Article 184(3) of the Constitution be first presented to this committee.
The bill stated, “If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter.”
