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 as the apex court reserved its verdict on a set of petitions challenging the SC (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023.
The 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. The decision was taken by an eight-member bench consisting ex-CJP Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed.
A day after he was sworn in, on September 19, incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa resumed hearing the petitions with a full court and ordered live-streaming of the entire proceedings.
Headed by Justice Isa, the bench consists Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Mazhar, Justice Ayesha, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Rizvi, Justice Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
So far, five hearings have been conducted. At the previous hearing, an exchange between judges and counsel hinted at the disquiet among judges over the court’s workings.
Towards the end of today’s proceedings, which started at 11:30am and concluded a little after 4pm, CJP Isa reserved the verdict.
He said the judges would hold discussions on the matter and if consensus or clarity was reached, the verdict would be announced. “Otherwise the verdict would stay reserved. If there is a need to convene again, we will, or else we will send you a message,” he added.
Later, court associates said the verdict would be announced at 5:30pm.
