Karachi: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has said that until the constitutionality of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 is decided, all matters falling under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction should be heard by a full court bench of the SC.
In detailed notes released Tuesday night, originally written on June 22, Supreme Court Justices Sardar Tariq Masood and Syed Mansoor Ali Shah have agreed with Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s reasoning regarding refusal to sit in the larger nine-member bench constituted to hear the petitions on military court trials of civilians. [The bar was later trimmed down to seven members].
These notes add to a detailed letter written on June 22 by Senior Puisne Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who had explained why he had refused to be part of the larger nine-member bench constituted to hear the petitions regarding military court trials of civilians and why the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill, 2023 had to be resolved before he could be part of SC benches. This note was removed from the apex court website shortly after being uploaded.
The notes by Justices Masood and Shah are clear in their estimation that the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 has to be decided before such benches are formed. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood says that he agrees with what Justice Qazi Faez Isa has written in his note/order, revealing that he was also not consulted by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial before being made part of the nine-member bench. He adds that “surprisingly”, the petitions were fixed just a day after the petitioner of “Constitution Petition No 25 of 2023” and his counsel had met the chief justice.
