An eight-judge Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday resumed proceedings on a set of pleas challenging the 26th Amendment.
The Amendment, which was approved by both houses of parliament in October last year, altered judicial authority and tenure, and has been a lightning rod for debate with both opposition parties and legal experts questioning its impact on the judiciary’s autonomy.
It took away the SC’s suo motu powers, set the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years and empowered a Special Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the CJP from among the three most senior SC judges. It also paved the way for the formation of the CB, which is now hearing petitions against the very legislation that enabled its establishment.
The legislation had been challenged by various bar associations, bar councils, lawyers, the PTI, and some politicians. The SC is also seized with separate petitions seeking the formation of a full court to hear the matter, rather than the CB.
The CB is headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and also includes Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shahid Bilal Hassan. It resumed proceedings yesterday after over eight months, and unanimously allowed live-streaming of the case upon some petitioners’ request.
The pleas taken up also seek the formation of a full court to hear the matter. Hence, before proceeding further, the court will first determine whether the challenges should be heard by a full court comprising all available SC judges or by the same eight-judge CB.
During today’s hearing, Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) lawyer Hamid Khan requested the formation of a 16-member bench to hear the pleas, as per the number of SC judges at the time of the 26th Amendment.
Several judges observed that the 26th Amendment was currently part of the Constitution and raised questions pertaining to Hamid’s request. The hearing was then adjourned till 11:30am tomorrow.
