Islamabad: The Supreme Court has completed the hearing of the Benches Powers case and reserved its verdict. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that the matter can be sent to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to form a full court. He may form a full court or not.
During the hearing, judicial assistant Ahsan Bhawan said that all the court decisions being referred to in this case have become ineffective after the 26th Amendment. You are part of the judges committee. Whether you sit or not is a different matter.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that I am also a member of the Judicial Commission. Ahsan Bhawan said that judges are also being appointed in the Judicial Commission meeting.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that the judges we nominate get only one vote, and that too is ours. The rest get eleven votes each. This will continue to sound like gossip.
We can also issue a contempt notice to two members of the Regular Judges Committee (Chief Justice of Pakistan, Head of the Constitutional Bench) but we will not do so. Prima facie, the two-member Judges Committee ignored the judicial order. Will the Chief Justice of Pakistan form a full court under the Supreme Court Rules 1980 or will the committee form one? Can the matter be referred to the Judges Committee for the formation of a full court through a judicial order?
Judicial Assistant Ahsan Bhawan said that in the past, the courts sabotaged the constitution in the name of interpretation, the Sindh High Court decision is an example of this.
Justice Mansoor Shah said that you are saying that the past was very bad, is the present situation okay? Ahsan Bhawan said that you will write the present situation and will not make such a decision.
Justice Mansoor Shah said that what decision do we have to make, which constitutional court are we? Ahsan Bhawan said that is why we used to say that a constitutional court should be formed. Justice Mansoor said that we would have pushed a little more. Ahsan Bhawan said that no other bench except the constitutional bench has the authority to examine constitutional legal matters.
Justice Mansoor Shah said that we were sitting to examine the same question that the case was taken away from us, can this be possible? If the unconstitutional bench has any wisdom, we are only sitting to examine whether the committee can take the case back from us under Article 191 or not.
Justice Aqeel Abbasi said that the bench was formed by the committee, we did not form it, this bench issued a judicial order, all the mischief is ours.
Judicial Assistant Khawaja Haris said that Article 191A is a part of the Constitution which has not been declared null and void by any judicial forum. If your previous judicial bench had given a decision on constitutional questions, it would have been against the law. This matter should have been sent to the Judges Committee. The exercise of this power should not be judged on the basis of violation of judicial order. Practice and Procedure is still in force today. A bench of the Supreme Court can issue any order only in accordance with the law.
Justice Mansoor Shah said that constitutional benches were formed through non-judicial forums. He declared the Practice and Procedure Act valid because the judiciary will form benches. Khawaja Haris said that it is written in the Constitution how a constitutional bench will be formed. A two-member regular bench cannot form a full court in a contempt of court case. A request can be made to the Chief Justice under the Supreme Court Rules 1980.
Justice Aqeel Abbasi said that tomorrow people will say that the Supreme Court is exceeding its powers. Nazar Abbas said in his response that I was made a scapegoat, we have no interest in contempt of court. The Attorney General said in his arguments that the proceedings for contempt of court are limited, if the court wants to get out of this proceedings, the matter should be sent to the Chief Justice, you have limited hearing authority, the matter should be sent to the committee, if the court was hearing Article 184 or an appeal, it would have been a different matter. Later, the court completed the hearing and reserved the decision.
