60 senators voted in favour; PTI terms bill attack on judiciary, says it is aimed at benefitting \u2018one person\u2019
\n ISLAMABAD
\nThe Senate on Thursday approved the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 that would limit chief justice of Pakistan\u2019s discretionary powers to take suo motu notice. The bill was moved in the Senate today after it was approved by the National Assembly a day earlier. At least 60 senators approved the bill while 19 lawmakers voted against it.
\nBefore the final vote on the bill, a motion was presented to send the bill to the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice for further debate but it was rejected. The motion for the urgent approval of the bill was then presented which was accepted by a majority of lawmakers.
\nOnce the bill was tabled in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar explained that the proposed law is providing the right to appeal in suo motu cases and to appoint a different lawyer in the appeals.
\nHowever, Leader of the Opposition Dr Shahzad Waseem slammed the bill saying that the government is unable to ensure a smooth distribution of wheat and planning to make rules for the Supreme Court.
\n\u201cMaking rules for the Supreme Court is an indirect attack (on the judiciary. You are trying to create division in the Supreme Court,\u201d claimed Dr Waseem. He added that the bill did not talk about the right of appeal before and later in the standing committee the right to appeal was also given on previous cases.
\n\u201cGive the bill to the committee and let it bring its changes,\u201d said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator and called for a vote on the matter.
\nAs the opposition leader was making his speech, the PTI senators hold a protest in the upper house. When PTI Senator Ali Zafar was given a chance to speak, he said that he had two objections to the bill.
\n\u201cOnly constitutional amendment can be made in 184\/3. If you pass laws this way then it will be struck down within 15 days,\u201d warned the senator. He added that the right to appeal can only be given through the Constitution.
\nZafar said that the Senate\u2019s standing committee had sent a constitutional amendment for the right to appeal. He also warned that by opening past cases the Supreme Court will have to hear thousands of cases again.
\n\u201cThere is also a divide among the lawyers on this bill. Such amendments cannot be made without amending the Constitution,\u201d said Zafar. He added that some changes suggested by the bill are illegal.
\nThe senator also objected to the timing of the bill as that an election suo motu was ongoing in the Supreme Court.
\nNA passes bill to clip CJP\u2019s suo motu powers
\nA day earlier, in a bid to bolster checks and balances in the higher judiciary, the National Assembly passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, tabled to limit Pakistan\u2019s top judge\u2019s discretionary powers to take suo motu notice.<\/p>\n
The bill was passed hours after National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice gave its consent.<\/p>\n
The bill was moved by the government after two Supreme Court judges \u2014 Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail \u2014 raised questions over the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), saying the apex court \u201ccannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the Chief Justice\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
60 senators voted in favour; PTI terms bill attack on judiciary, says it is aimed at benefitting \u2018one person\u2019 ISLAMABAD The Senate on Thursday approved the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 that would limit chief justice of Pakistan\u2019s discretionary powers to take suo motu notice. The bill was moved in the Senate today […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322853,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1211,158,379,12449],"class_list":{"0":"post-322828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-opposition","9":"tag-pti","10":"tag-senate","11":"tag-supreme-court-practice-and-procedure-bill"},"yoast_head":"\n