ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has dismissed Additional Registrar (Judicial) Nazar Abbas over a serious lapse in case management, resulting in cases being assigned to the wrong bench of the apex court, The News reported on Wednesday.
The cases in question—CPLA Nos. 836-K to 887-K, 951-K, 1056-K of 2020, 741-K to 743-K of 2021, and 165-K of 2022—challenged provisions of the Customs Act 1969. These cases were supposed to be heard by a constitutional bench but were mistakenly assigned to a regular bench.
According to a press release issued by the Supreme Court’s Public Relations Department, this error caused a significant waste of time and resources for the court and the litigants. The Supreme Court has instructed its registrar to investigate the matter further.
The cases were initially fixed before a three-judge Regular Bench and were heard on January 13, 2025. During the proceedings, the constitutionality of sub-section 2 of section 11A of the Customs Act was challenged. This raised questions about the bench’s jurisdiction, leading to an adjournment to January 16.
Recognizing the gravity of the mistake, the Judicial Branch submitted a formal note to the Regular Committee under section 2(1) of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023. The committee, chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), convened on January 17 to address the issue.
The committee concluded that Clause 3 of Article 191A of the Constitution, along with Clause 5 of the same article, clearly vests jurisdiction over such cases in the constitutional bench. As a result, the committee withdrew the cases from the regular bench and directed that they be reassigned to the constitutional bench committee under Article 191A for re-fixation.
The committee further instructed that all future cases falling under Article 191A must be presented directly to the constitutional bench committee, regardless of any prior orders by regular benches. Additionally, the SC registrar was directed to expedite the scrutiny of all pending cases and ensure thorough diligence for newly filed cases to prevent similar lapses.
On January 17, the Constitutional Bench Committee decided to schedule all cases related to the 26th Constitutional Amendment and challenges to the vires of laws. An eight-judge constitutional bench is set to hear these cases on January 27.
Meanwhile, a Regular Bench comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi heard contempt proceedings against Nazar Abbas on Tuesday. Supreme Court Registrar Muhammad Salim Khan, appearing on behalf of the absent Additional Registrar (Judicial), explained that the misassignment was a mistake and not a result of malicious intent. He emphasized that the error was made in good faith and in compliance with directives from the Regular Committee.
Despite these explanations, the Supreme Court issued the removal order for Nazar Abbas. The Chief Justice has also directed the registrar to allocate additional resources to accelerate the scrutiny of pending cases, aiming to avoid further inconvenience to litigants and the legal community.
The press release concluded with a commitment to improving case management and ensuring the proper allocation of cases to the appropriate benches moving forward.
