Increase in number of SC judges, tenure of services chiefs: NA, Senate pass bills amid protest

ISLAMABAD: Amid strong protest by opposition, the National Assembly and the Senate passed six bills on Monday, extending the tenure of services chiefs from three to five years, besides increasing the number of Supreme Court of Pakistan and Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges.

The opposition lawmakers belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lodged strong protest when Defence Minister Khawaja Asif presented amendments to the Pakistan Army, Navy, and Air Force Acts.

Despite repeated requests, the NA Speaker did not allow the opposition leaders in National Assembly Omar Ayub or PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan to speak on the bill and subsequently declared its passage with majority votes.

During the voting on the bills, the opposition members disrupted the proceedings by chanting slogans, surrounding the Speaker’s dais, and tearing copies of the bill in protest. The uproar escalated, with some members engaging in physical altercations.

According to clause 4 of the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024, “the retirement age and service limits prescribed for a general, under the rules and regulation made under this act, shall not be applicable to the chief of army staff, during his tenure of appointment, reappointment and/ or extension. Throughout such tenure, the chief of army staff shall continue to serve as a general in Pakistan Army.”

According to Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the procedure of appointment, retirement, service limits, and extension as described above for the army chief will be the same for naval and air force chiefs. These amendments will extend the tenure of the chief of army staff and heads of other military branches to five years, standardising service durations – from three to five years – across all branches.

Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the bills in National Assembly to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court and IHC, which the house subsequently approved with majority. Tarar presented the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Ordinance for parliamentary approval, proposing an increase in the number of Supreme Court judges to 34.

“The maximum number of judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan other than the chief justice shall be up to 33,” said the bill. The existing number of Supreme Court judges is 17 including the chief justice.

Despite the chaos created by the opposition, the minister briefed the assembly on the provisions of the bill, highlighting the backlog of thousands of pending cases at the Supreme Court’s registry, which necessitates the increase in judicial capacity.

Additionally, the law minister introduced the Islamabad High Court Amendment Bill 2024, explaining that the number of judges in the High Court would be raised from nine to twelve.

The amendment bill proposes changes, including a provision allowing appeals against decisions made by constitutional benches under Article 184 (3) to be heard by a larger constitutional bench within 30 days, if possible. This amendment applies retroactively to cases before the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Further additions, including Sections 7-A and 7-B, mandate that cases will follow a first-in, first-out basis for hearings. Another key change requires that proceedings for every case, matter, or appeal in the Supreme Court be officially recorded, with transcripts available to the public upon request. The amendment specifies that court proceedings will be recorded, and official copies will be accessible to the public for a nominal fee of Rs50 per page. Verified copies of these records can be used for legal purposes, thereby increasing transparency in judicial processes.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024