Supreme Court bars implementation of bill curtailing CJP’s powers

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday barred the government from implementing Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, which aims to curtail the suo motu powers of office of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), ARY News reported.

According to details, an eight-member bench – headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) – took up a set of three petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023.

During the hearing, the court issued notices to the political parties, the federal government, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SBCA) and other respondents in the case.

The apex court, in a written order issued today, termed the bill “interference with and intrusion into the independence of the judiciary.”

The order stated that while the bill is “not yet law it is nonetheless, with exactitude, that what will have the force of law, when the act comes into being,” adding that it could be considered and examined even at this stage.

“Prima facie, the bill seems to be open to question on the constitutional plane on several grounds which, inter alia, raise issues of a serious nature in relation to the independence of the judiciary,” it added.

The order stated that the contentions raised disclosed that there was a “substantial, immediate and direct interference with the independence of the judiciary in the form of multiple intrusions, in the guise of regulating the practice and procedure of this court and conferring upon it a jurisdiction that appears not to be permissible under any constitutional provision”.

“Such intermeddling in the functioning of the court, even on the most tentative assessment, will commence as soon as the bill becomes the act. Accordingly, in our view an interim measure ought to be put in place, in the nature of an anticipatory injunction.

It concluded by stating, “The moment that the bill receives the assent of the president or (as the case may be) it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner.”

Govt rejects SC bench

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) ruled coalition government has rejected the 8-member bench of the Supreme Court formed to hear a petition challenging the Supreme Court (Procedure and Practice) Bill 2023.

The bench headed by CJP Umar Ata Bandial includes Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Muzahir Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi.

Read more: Govt rejects bench hearing Supreme Court (Procedure and Practice) Bill

In a statement released on Thursday after a consultative meeting, the ruling coalition rejected the move and called it ‘controversial’.

Earlier on Monday, the Joint Sitting of Parliament passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which aims to curtail the suo motu powers of office of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP).

Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar moved the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 which was passed by the Parliament.

It is to mention that President Dr Arif Alvi returned the ‘judicial reforms’ bill for reconsideration to the Parliament as per the provisions of Article 75 of the Constitution.