ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, a full-court bench of the Supreme Court continued to hear petitions against the Practice and Procedure bill for the third consecutive day, with live-streamed proceedings.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Mansoor Awan presented his arguments before the court.
The full court comprises Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
Tuesday’s hearings had turned tense when the CJP stopped Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan from posing questions to lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, who was representing MQM.
SC Practice and Procedure Bill
On March 30, the Senate passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aimed to limit the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notices and exercise discretion in forming benches.
The bill specified that a committee consisting of the CJP and the two most senior judges would constitute benches for cases in the apex court, making decisions by a majority voteIt also required that any matter invoking Article 184(3) of the Constitution be first presented to this committee.
The bill stated, “If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter.”
