SC Constitutional Bench approves live streaming of proceedings
26th Amendment case
ISLAMABAD: An eight-judge Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) approved on Tuesday a set of requests seeking the live streaming of proceedings on pleas challenging the 26th Amendment.
The Amendment, which was approved by both houses of parliament in October last year, altered judicial authority and tenure, and has been a lightning rod for debate with both opposition parties and legal experts questioning its impact on the judiciary’s autonomy.
It took away the SC’s suo motu powers, set the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years and empowered the prime minister to appoint the next CJP from among the three most senior SC judges. It also paved the way for the formation of the CB, which is now hearing petitions against the very legislation that led to its establishment.
It has been challenged by various high court bar associations, the PTI and others.
A CB headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprises Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shahid Bilal Hassan resumed hearing the set of pleas today, which were last taken up on January 27.
During Tuesday’s hearing, three matters were primarily discussed — the constitution of a full court to hear the pleas against the 26th Amendment, objections to the CB and live streaming of the proceedings.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Aminuddin Khan said the bench would first hear arguments on requests for a full court hearing on the pleas and objections to CB. “We will decide on the matter of live streaming (of court proceedings) later,” he added. At one point, Justice Mandokhail remarked, “This is a big case, we will proceed on this in an orderly manner.”
Eventually, the court approved the requests for live streaming the case’s proceedings and adjourned the hearing till 11.30am today (Wednesday). Monitoring Desk
