— Supreme Court says politicians act improperly by questioning legitimacy of decisions when they do not get their own way
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial Tuesday said an independent judiciary is necessary for democracy to function in Pakistan, as the Supreme Court held a hearing to consider a set of petitions challenging a law that aims to restrict the authority of the top judge.
An eight-judge larger bench — headed by Justice Bandial and comprising justices Ijaz ul-Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Shahid Waheed — heard the petitions filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution which deals with the jurisdiction of Supreme Court.
The law reads: “… the Supreme Court shall, if it considers that a question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights […] is involved have the power to make an order of the nature mentioned in the said article.”
The bill in question, which has already become an act of parliament, seeks to limit the individual authority of the chief justice to initiate suo motu proceedings and form benches unilaterally, and instead places these powers in a panel consisting of the chief justice and two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
The law also proposes the right to appeal against suo motu decisions.
Last month, the court had preemptively frozen action on the bill even before it was passed into law, declaring the act “shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner.”
Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed appeared on behalf of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Farooq Naek represented the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Hassan Raza Pasha, a Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) official, represented the union of lawyers before the court.
During the hearing, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan revealed that some political parties would like to address the bench via video link, to which the chief justice responded that the bench will hear everyone.
He remarked that the judiciary has “reservations” over the law and emphasised that the independence of the judiciary is a “fundamental right.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Khawaja Tariq Rahim said the judicial reform bill has become part of the law. The court sought a record of the debate held in the parliament and a standing committee on judicial reforms.
Pasha, who heads the executive committee of the PBC, requested the inclusion of senior judges in the bench, while the union also sought the formation of a full court and the exclusion of Justice Naqvi, who is part of the bench. However, the court rejected his request.
The chief justice stressed that independence of the judiciary is a “fundamental right,” and it cannot be changed. He remarked that “politics has tainted the judicial process,” adding that “complaints keep coming against most of the Supreme Court judges including myself.”
The demand for a full court and removal of judges was also made during the election delay case.
The hearing of the pleas was adjourned by the court till May 8, and the chief justice directed all parties in the case to submit written arguments in the case.
