CJP has power to form full court, lawyer tells Constitutional Bench

26th Amendment case

ISLAMABAD: Senior lawyer Abid Shahid Zuberi on Tuesday told the Supreme Court’s (SC) Constitutional Bench (CB) that the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) had the power to form a full court as it took up a set of petitions against the 26th Amendment.

The 26th Amendment was passed by Parliament during an overnight session in October last year, with the PTI claiming seven of its lawmakers were abducted to gain their favour as the party opposed the legislation. The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) also alleged its two senators were being, with both later defying party line to vote in the tweaks’ favour.

The legislation, which altered judicial authority and tenure, has been a lightning rod for debate with both opposition parties and legal experts questioning its impact on the judiciary’s independence.

The tweaks took away the SC’s suo motu powers, set the CJP’s term at three years and empowered a Special Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the 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 enabled its establishment.

The bench hearing the pleas is headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and also includes Justices Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shahid Bilal Hassan.

Judges have questioned whether the CB has the power to issue orders for the constitution of a full court, as requested by petitioners.

The bench will first determine whether the challenges should be heard by a full court comprising all available SC judges or by the same eight-judge CB, before deciding on the legality of the 26th Amendment.

The case was initially taken up in January, and after the CB’s approval of petitioners’ request for it, the proceedings were being live-streamed on the SC’s YouTube channel since October 8.

Zuberi, also a former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president, continued his arguments in the case on Tuesday. The hearing was later adjourned till 11:30am Wednesday. The live-stream for the hearing began with a delay of about 40 minutes due to internet issues. The Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL) has said users would experience degraded internet services today as a submarine cable is being repaired. Monitoring Desk