ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah offered a suggestion to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, proposing the establishment of a full court to deliberate on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition that challenges the modifications made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law.
Justice Mansoor remarked during the 48th hearing on the petition, “I think that the NAB amendments case should be heard by the full court; the case will have its own impact.”
A three-judge panel led by CJP Bandial, with Justice Mansoor and Justice Ijazul Ahsan as members, considered the petitions.
Justice Mansoor additionally pointed out that Attorney General for Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, had raised an objection regarding the military court’s case.
“Under Sections 3 and 4 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, the case should be heard by a bench of at least 5 members,” he said, further adding that the CJP should constitute a full court for the case.
Highlights from NAB Amendments Case Hearing
Justice Mansoor also recommended the formation of a full court to hear the petitions challenging the military trials of civilians.
He said during the hearing, “My objection is that only the full court should hear such cases. The Supreme Court should first decide on the practice and procedure law.”
“The Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act has not been decided yet. If it had, the matter would have been different,” he further observed.
Justice Mansoor, one of the two judges, emphasized the necessity of reevaluating the authority of the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s office. This office is led by Umar Ata Bandial, often referred to as a “one-man show.”
While the hearing was in progress, Yasir Aman, assistant counsel to Khawaja Haris, who represented PTI, informed the court that due to poor health, Haris had requested Aman to stand in on his behalf.
The Supreme Court granted permission to Aman to deliver the arguments.
Initially, Justice Mansoor criticized the PTI’s lawyer for not addressing the fundamental rights that the amendments were bypassing.
“If you recall, I also asked during the 47th hearing which fundamental rights are being affected by the NAB amendments,” he commented, noting that the same question had been posed during the initial hearing as well.
Justice Mansoor said, “The petitioner’s counsel could not give a satisfactory answer to the question of fundamental rights asked multiple times.”
“I don’t think we can review the amendments made to the law in 2023. The NAB amendments of 2022 were challenged before the court.” CJP Bandial remarked during the hearing.
Case Progress And Cautionary Note In NAB Amendments Hearing
Then, he instructed the PTI counsel to provide the new NAB amendments along with their written responses, and he postponed the hearing until August 28.
He further stated that the court would conduct daily hearings for the case starting from August 28.
“We want to dispose of the case as one of the members of the bench is nearing retirement.”
However, he issued a warning: “It is not necessary that the verdict will be on the merits of the NAB amendments case. It is possible that the decision will come on the admissibility of the case.”
