Islamabad: The Constitutional Bench has not yet heard any high-profile case whose outcome could affect the country’s politics.
The Constitutional Bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, spent 3 days hearing mostly cases that were pending under Article 184(3) during the tenures of former Chief Justices. However, the bench did not raise the question of how this jurisdiction was used, especially by Iftikhar Chaudhry and Saqib Nisar in cases related to bad governance and corruption.
Interestingly, the seven-member bench is hearing appeals against the objections of the Registrar on constitutional petitions. Usually, such appeals are heard in a single judge chamber.
A lawyer expressed surprise as to why chamber appeals are being filed before a larger bench? It is also being seen that routine benches were disrupted last week due to the work of the Constitutional Bench. Similarly, no three-judge bench is available in the first two days of this week.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Jamal Mandokhel was hearing criminal/jail appeals, but due to the unavailability of this bench, these appeals could not be heard. Now the debate has started whether the case management plan will be successful after the constitutional bench functions?
If the pendency of cases does not decrease, will the pressure for the appointment of new Supreme Court judges increase? The constitutional bench has not yet fixed the 26th Amendment, military courts and enforced disappearances cases.
The real test of the bench is how it will decide the petitions against the 26th Amendment?
Abdul Moeez Jafri Advocate said that the constitutional bench has increased the backlog of cases instead of reducing it and increased the frustration of the litigants. I could not understand why this bench superseded the roster of general cases and why it cannot sit after noon and decide special cases.
Rida Hussain Advocate said that the Constitutional Bench is running its own court within the Supreme Court.
Former MNA Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said that the very concept of a Constitutional Bench is ridiculous, its formation and jurisdiction are all against the principles of judicial independence. The nominated judges have shown no interest in important constitutional matters such as the legality of military courts and have forgotten important cases.
