Coalition parties reject Supreme Court larger bench, terms it as ‘controversial

Ruling coalition government have branded the eight-judge Supreme Court larger bench, constituted to take up judicial reforms bill, as “controversial” and rejected the attempt of fixing the bill for hearing even before its enforcement.

In a joint statement issued in Islamabad on Thursday an hour before the start of the hearing at the apex court, the ruling coalition rejected the attempt to take up the Supreme Court Procedure and Practice Bill 2023.

The coalition parties maintained that such a move had never been seen before in the history of Pakistan or its judiciary. It tantamount to eroding the credibility of the country’s highest court and reducing to meaningless the constitutional process of justice, they said.

They declared that this bench is itself a clear-cut proof of the divisions in the Supreme Court, which has again seconded the already-declared stance of the parties in the coalition government.

The coalition parties also vowed to stand against any such attempt to take away parliament’s authority and to interfere in its constitutional scope.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had on Wednesday formed an eight-member larger bench to hear petitions filed against the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, which restricted the top judge’s powers to initiate suo motu proceedings and constitute benches on his own.

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 are the other members of the larger bench.