Islamabad: Parliament changed the composition of the 3-member Judges Committee for the second time by amending the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2024. After which, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the most senior judge, Justice Mansoor Shah and the senior judge of the Constitutional Benches have been included in the 3-member Judges Committee. That is, the third senior judge, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, has been expelled from the committee for the second time.
Advocate Hafiz Ehsan Khokhar said that after the 26th constitutional amendment, the amendment of the Practice and Procedure Act was the need of the hour, when the constitution has given the authority to nominate judges for the constitutional benches under the Judicial Commission, then the judges of the constitutional benches are also represented by judges. In committee, the impression that a judge was targeted by the legislation is not correct.
When the Practice and Procedure Act was introduced in the previous PDM government, the President had not yet signed the Act, so a few petitioners quickly reached the Supreme Court and challenged the Practice and Procedure Act 2023. Former Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial heard the case. He was appointed and restrained for six months which continued till his retirement.
As soon as former Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa took oath, a full court was formed for the hearing on the Practice and Procedure Act and live court proceedings were also shown. In a ten-judge full court majority decision, the Supreme Court declared that Parliament has the power to legislate, five judges disagreed on the power of Parliament to legislate.
When the issue of Article 63A came before the three-member Judges Committee after the decision of the specific seats case, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar, two members of the Judges Committee, opposed the appointment for the revision hearing. He gave two excuses. The first excuse was that it was summer vacation and the second reason was that a detailed decision was yet to come.
Then, when a meeting of the Judges Committee was called to schedule the revision petitions of Article 63A for hearing again, due to some reasons, the revision of Article 63A could not be scheduled for hearing again.
At the same time, an ordinance was issued by the President of the country in which it was said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan can choose the third member for the Judges Committee by himself, thus replacing Justice Muneeb Akhtar with Justice Aminuddin Khan as the third member in the Judges Committee. Nominated on
On this, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote a letter and said that until Justice Muneeb Akhtar is included in the Judges Committee or the Presidential Ordinance is fixed by calling a Full Court meeting on the administrative side or in the Full Court on the judicial side, the Judges Committee I will not attend any meeting.
Former Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa’s reply letter also came out in which Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s letter was answered. After the retirement of Qazi Faiz Isa, Justice Yahya Afridi was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, then under the Presidential Ordinance the composition of the Judges Committee was again changed and Justice Muneeb Akhtar was again included in the Judges Committee.
