A view of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. — Top court’s official website/file The Supreme Court will take up next week a petition seeking to declare proposed constitutional amendment proposed by the coalition government, aimed at introducing judicial reforms including establishing separate court to hear constitutional matters, “ultra vires” the Constitution.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa will hear the case on October 17. The bench will also include Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, according to a supplementary cause list issued by the registrar’s office.
The petition was filed by former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Abid Shahid Zuberi, Shafqat Mahmood, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Shahab Sarki, Munir Kakar and others.In a constitutional petition filed under Article 184(3), the apex court has been requested to set aside the proposed amendments and declare them “ultra vires” the Constitution, principle of separation of powers, independence of judiciary and fundamental rights enshrined under the law. “It is prayed that the separation of powers and independence of the judiciary and its powers and functions to enforce the fundamental rights be kindly declared as sacrosanct under the Constitution and beyond the power and competence of the Parliament to withdraw, interfere or tamper with in any manner whatsoever,” the petition read.The petitioners requested the court to restrain the federal government from tabling the bill, order the suspension of the operation of the proposed amendments, and stop it from being signed into law by the president of Pakistan even if it sails through both houses of parliament.The constitutional package, among other things, aims to set up a federal constitutional court and fix the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years.The government had attempted to present the bill to amend the Constitution last month, but its allies as well as members from the opposition benches vehemently opposed the proposal, forcing the the rulers to begin a consultation process.It is pertinent to mention here that CJP Isa is set to retire on the 25th of this month. A full court reference for the outgoing top judge has been scheduled for the said date.