ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court’s Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar on Friday remakred that the top court’s constitutional bench retains the authority to take suo motu notice.
The apex court judge made these remarks during the hearing of an anti-terrorism case.
The case, took up by the constitutional bench, was brought to the court’s attention after the petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Munir Paracha, argued that no further action was needed in the case. He contended that following the 26th Amendment, the supreme court no longer had the right to initiate suo motu proceedings.
In response, Justice Mazhar clarified that while the amendment had changed procedural aspects, it did not eliminate the Supreme Court’s ability to take suo motu notice.
“The procedure may have changed, but the Supreme Court still retains the power to take suo motu notice. The only difference is that such cases are now heard by the Constitutional Bench,” he remarked. “Constitutional Bench is empowered to hear such cases and initiate suo motu proceedings if necessary,” SC judge Muhammad Ali Mazhar observed.
