Show Cause Notice
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice to the additional registrar for failing to fix a case related to the authority of the SC bench for hearing.
The case, concerning the powers of constitutional and regular benches, was supposed to be heard on Monday by a bench comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Aqeel Abbasi.
However, when the case was not listed for hearing as expected, Barrister Salahuddin, who had traveled from Karachi, informed the court that the case was not scheduled.
Justice Shah, upon hearing this, immediately decided to inquire into the matter. He summoned Additional Registrar Nazar Abbas to explain why the case had not been included on the docket. After a brief recess, Deputy Registrar Zulfiqar Ali appeared in court and informed the bench that the additional registrar was unwell and could not attend.
Justice Shah expressed his confusion, asking why the case he had specifically ordered to be scheduled was not on the docket. The deputy registrar explained that the judges’ committee had decided to list the case for hearing on January 27 before the constitutional bench.
However, Justice Shah, who was a member of the judges’ committee, stated that he had not been informed about any such meeting.
Justice Ayesha Malik questioned how an administrative committee could disregard a judicial order, while Justice Aqeel Abbasi asked whether the judicial order had been presented to the committee. The deputy registrar confirmed that it had been, and the decision from the committee meeting was attached to the file.
Justice Malik raised concerns over how other cases had been removed from the schedule and emphasized that all cases for the week had been altered. She requested detailed explanations from the registrar regarding these changes.
Justice Shah further engaged with the deputy registrar, requesting the minutes of the committee meeting to understand the changes better. After another break, the deputy registrar informed the bench that no written order from the committee had been received.
Justice Shah questioned why the case had not been scheduled if no committee order was available. Justice Ayesha added that it was unclear how other cases could be transferred to the constitutional bench without following proper procedures.
Justice Abbasi remarked that no one, including the chief justice, has the authority to transfer cases arbitrarily, recounting a similar incident at the Sindh High Court when the chief justice had been compelled to schedule a case for hearing in front of them.
The bench issued a show cause notice for contempt of court to the additional judicial registrar, requiring an explanation for not scheduling the case as ordered. The additional registrar was directed to appear in person to provide clarification on the matter. The court then adjourned the hearing until Tuesday.
