CJP Yahya Afridi convenes meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan on 11 February, 2025
Agenda of the meeting is to consider five senior most judges including the CJs of all the High Courts against 8 vacancies to be filled
Constitutional Bench of SC issues notices on petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and adjourned the hearing for three weeks.
Bench also issues notices on petitions to form full court & live broadcast of the court proceedings
ISLAMABAD ( WEB NEWS )
The Chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan Justice Yahya Khan Afridi has convened a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan on 11 February, 2025 at 2:00 at the conference room of the Supreme Court building at Islamabad.
The agenda of the meeting is to consider five senior most judges including the Chief Justices of all the High Courts against 8 vacancies to be filled.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan has de-notified the senior puisne Judges of the Lahore High Court, High Court of Balochistan and Peshawar High Court as Members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. This de-notification was due to an objection raised by Justice Munib Akhtar, Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan/Member Judicial Commission of Pakistan in the meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (High Court of Balochistan) dated 17th January, 2025.
The objection was based on the interpretation of third proviso to Article 175(5) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of the Pakistan read with Article 1(2) of the Constitution Twenty-sixth Amendment Act (No. XXVI) of 2024. The Attorney-General of Pakistan/ Member Judicial Commission of Pakistan also concurred to the same opinion.
The Chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan approved the said objection, subject to any judicial pronouncement.
Constitutional Bench of SC issues notices on petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment
The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday issued notices on petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, formation of full court and live broadcast of the court proceedings.
An eight-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and including Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shahid Bilal Hassan conducted hearing on 29 petitions filed against the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
At the outset of proceedings, advocates Hamid Khan, Faisal Siddiqui, Dr. Adnan Khan and others came to the rostrum and requested to form a full court to hear the case.
Justice Mandokhail observed that Judicial Commission nominates judges in the Constitutional Bench. All the judges nominated by the commission have been part of this bench. He explained that the commission nominates judges, while a three-member committee fixes cases.
“A full court cannot be formed on your whim,” Justice Mandokhail added.
Justice Mazhar told the counsels to consider this bench as a full court. However, they argued that a full court comprising all the Supreme Court judges be formed. The justice rejected their request.
Justice Mandokhail observed that it is a full court as this bench comprises all the judges on the constitutional bench.
Justice Ayesha remarked that there is no restriction on forming a full court.
Advocate Siddiqui said that the 26th Amendment is against the principle of separation of powers.
Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari stated that the House was incomplete at the time of approval of the 26th Amendment.
Justice Mandokhail asked him whether the voting for the 26th Amendment was based on the total members [of the assembly] or on the members sitting in the House? Advocate Siddiqui replied that it was done by the members present.
The justice questioned him whether those members in House were two-thirds of the full House? The counsel replied that [they had] somehow completed the numbers and added that he was not objecting to that.
Justice Ayesha Malik asked him whether all the provinces were fully represented in the House. Advocate Siddiqui said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not fully represented in the Senate. The Senate elections were held up to the extent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Later, the court issued notices on the petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment. The court also issued notices on the petition for the formation of a full court and live streaming of the proceedings and adjourned the hearing for three weeks.