The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has announced its reserved the verdict in SC Practice and Procedure Act on completing the arguments from both sides and ruled law aimed at clipping CJP’s wings sustained as being constitutional in majority verdict.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday said 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.
He passed these remarks 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
Headed by CJP Isa, the bench consists 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 Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
The practice and procedure law, which was passed by parliament in April, requires a committee of three senior judges to form benches for constitutional matters and suo motu notices.
It has been seen by the petitioners as an attempt by the government to curtail the chief justice’s powers.
In April, the Supreme Court, then led by former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial, barred the government from implementing the law until the petitions challenging it were decided.
At the previous hearing, an exchange between judges and counsel hinted at the disquiet among judges over the court’s workings.
