ISLAMABAD: The joint sitting of the Parliament on Monday passed The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 aimed at curtailing the suomotu and the bench constitution powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan amid strong protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators.
The joint sitting of the parliament also passed two identical resolutions, calling for holding the general elections for all the assemblies simultaneously on its stipulated time under neutral caretaker setups “to bring true political and economic stability.”
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At the outset when the joint sitting assumed its session with Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf in the chair, PTI senators holding placards entered the House and started chanting slogans against the legislation to what they termed an attack on the independence of the top judiciary.
They were chanting slogans such as “attack on judiciary is unacceptable”, “no to ‘imported’ government’”, and “hold elections and save the country” when the Speaker gave the floor to the law minister to present the bill.
During the clause-by-clause reading of the bill,PML-N MNA Shaza Fatima Khawaja presented several amendments which were made part of the bill and passed consequently.
One of the amendments was related to setting up of a committee of judges to devise rules and regulations regarding the suomotu matter. As per the amendment, the chief justice of Pakistan or any other member of the committee can call the meeting until the rules and regulations are finalised. The House, however, rejected one amendment proposed by Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad.
President Dr Ari fAlvi had earlier returned the bill back to the Parliament for reconsideration, which was consequently passed by the joint sitting with the majority vote, presented by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
Now the bill will be presented before the president once again for his assent. If the president does not give his approval within 10 days, it would be deemed to have been given and eventually the legislation will become an Act of Parliament.
The bill proposes that every cause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a Committee comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan and two senior most judges in order of seniority.
It further states any matter invoking exercise of original jurisdiction under clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution shall be first placed before the committee constituted under section 2 for examination and if the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter 1 of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which may also include the members of the committee for adjudication of the matter.
It further stated: “In the matter where interpretation of the constitutional provision is involved, Committee shall constitute a bench comprising not less than five judges of the Supreme Court.”
The bill recommends that an appeal shall lie within 30 days from an order of a bench of the Supreme Court, who exercised jurisdiction under clause 3 of Article 184 of the Constitution to a larger bench of the apex court and such appeal shall for hearing be fixed within a period not exceeding 14 days.
Furthermore, it grants a party the right to appoint counsel of its choice for filing a review application. An application pleading urgency or seeking interim relief filed in a cause, appeal or matter shall be fixed for hearing within 14 days from the date of its filing.
“The provisions of this Act shall have effect not withstanding anything contained in any other law, rules or regulations for the time being in forces or judgment of any court including the Supreme Court and a High Court,” the bill further suggested.
Speaking in favour of the bill, the law minister said that voices against the chief justice’s suomotu powers were arising from within the top court and various Bars were also demanding the reforms.
He read out the message of the president who returned the bill for reconsideration, adding that bill was discussed in detail in the National Assembly and was also approved by the Senate.
Responding to the objections by the president, the law minister regretted that the president used “inappropriate” words while returning this bill and used a “biased approach”. “Dr Arif Alvi should think as the president rather than a political party worker,” he maintained.
He further stated that the legislation was the demand of the Bar associations and councils to introduce the bill and they had supported the bill. He said that the bill was an old demand of the bar councils which stated that the indiscriminate use of 184(3) should be stopped, adding that certain clauses were incorporated by then military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq.
The law minister was endorsed by senior PPP senator and lawyer Farooq H Naek and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) senator and senior Supreme Court lawyer Kamran Murtaza.
The joint sitting of the parliament also passed two identical resolutions presented by PML-N Murtaza Javed Abbasi and JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza, which stated that “the House firmly believes that political stability is important for economic stability.”
It said that according to the spirit of article 280, the general elections for all the assemblies must be held simultaneously on its stipulated time under neutral caretaker setups to bring true political and economic stability.
Speaking on the floor of the House, JI Senator Mushtaq opposed any military operation in Waziristan, as announced by the National Security Council, saying that the people of Waziristan need development and uplift and no more military operations.
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