SCBA president says will not allow curtailing judiciary’s power

ISLAMABAD: Abid Zuberi, President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), has asserted that the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 was aimed to suppress an institution, vowing that they will not allow anyone to curtail judiciary’s power, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Talking to journalists in Islamabad, the SCBA president noted that as per the Constitution, election should be held within 90 days of dissolution of assemblies.

Abid Zuberi questioned the authority of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for changing the election date, saying that the electoral watchdog would have filed a review petition if it had any objection to the date.

The SCBA president further said that the bar association was not affiliated with any political party. “However, allegations are levelled against us for standing with a victim,” he said.

“It is time to impose Article 6 on those who violated the constitution and law”, he stressed, adding that Article 5 and 90 of the constitution will be violated if elections are not held within 90 days.

Referring to Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, Zuberi questioned the time the bill was president in the Parliament. “The bill’s aim was to suppress an institution,” he said, adding that they would not allow curtailing of judiciary’s power.

Earlier in the day, the National Assembly approved the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aims to curtail the suo motu powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Law Minister said that Article 184 was exercised unrestrained. The suo moto powers were used by Iftikhar Chaudhry without constraints, while Saqib Nisar crossed the limits.

“Earlier, there was no right to appeal in suo moto, which is against the fundamental rights and Sharia,” Tarar said. “A bench will be comprised of at least five judges in cases of legal and constitutional matters,” law minister said. “The lawyer could now be changed in suo moto cases, which was not allowed earlier,” he further said.

The bill

Under the new legislation, the decision for suo motu notice will be taken by three senior judges of the Supreme Court (SC).

Moreover, the bill also includes a clause regarding the right to appeal against the decision, which could be filed within 30 days and fixed for a hearing in two weeks.

It added that the party will be allowed to change its lawyer in a suo motu case. Under Article 184, the matter will be presented before a judges committee. The committee will review the case and later form a five-member committee for any kind of constitutional interpretation.

The act will be taken into effect on all verdict of the high courts and the Supreme Court (SC).