— Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Jamal Mandokhail say suo moto was unwarranted as the matter is also pending in the high courts of Lahore and Peshawar
ISLAMABAD: Two judges, Mansoor Ali Shah and Jamal Khan Mandokhail, issued a joint dissent note, claiming the proceedings initiated by the chief justice to protect the Constitution were “wholly unjustified” as the matter was also pending in the high courts of Lahore and Peshawar and were conducted with “undue haste”.
Their note is part of the landmark Supreme Court judgement ordering the holding of fresh elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within a constitutional timeframe of 90 days.
A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, announced the judgment on a suo moto notice with a 3-2 majority, directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately announce the date for the fresh elections in two provinces.
The note argues that the constitutional and legal issues raised by the suo motu proceedings are already being considered by the provincial high courts, and, therefore, do not constitute a fit case to exercise the extraordinary original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
“There is no justification to invoke our extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 184(3) to initiate suo motu proceedings or entertain petitions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, as a single Bench of the Lahore High Court has already decided the matter in favour of the petitioner before the said High Court vide judgment dated 10.02.2023 and the said judgment is still in the field.
“The intra-court appeals filed against the said judgment are pending before the Division Bench of the Lahore High Court (and none of the said petitioners has approached this court under Article 185(3) of the Constitution),” it said.
The judges further argue that the high courts should be allowed to decide the matters pending before them without interference from the Supreme Court.
“… considering the importance of the matter we expect that the respective high courts shall decide the matters pending before them within three working days from today,” the note read.
The note concludes by saying the judges agree with the orders passed by justices Yahya Afridi and Athar Minallah on February 23 and dismiss the present constitution petitions and drop the proceedings.
