ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up the petitions against the proposed 26th Constitutional Amendments Bill on October 17, which the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition intends to table for the establishment of federal court.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, will conduct the hearing.

Former President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Abid Shahid Zuberi and five members of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on September 16 filed the petition under Article 184 3) of Constitution.

Plea against ‘amendments bill’ filed in SC

The Balochistan Bar Council also challenged the proposed bill, saying it is in complete violation of all the constitutional principles and is an attempt to destroy the independent judiciary and fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Constitution.

The proposed Constitutional Amendments Bill destroys the principles of independence of judiciary, access to justice and fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens of Pakistan.

However, the Supreme Court Registrar’s Office on September 19 returned the former SCBA president’s petition. It said that hypothetical questions are posed in the petition.

The Registrar’s Office’s order said that the petition has been filed under Article 184 3) of the constitution to challenge a document which has not yet attained the status of a law and it is stated to be a “proposed law”, not yet introduced in the parliament.

It also said that the members of the National Assembly and the Senate who may pass a bill, if and when presented. However, they are not arrayed as parties, while the federation, the provinces, the Principal Secretaries to the Prime Minister and the President who are listed as respondents are not members of Parliament.

The order further stated that the petitioners are advocates and members of Pakistan Bar Council, whereas the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act stipulates that the lawyers should not become parties.

It also said that if the petitioners have a grievance and want to be portrayed as members of the Pakistan Bar Council then they should first approach their respective bodies; i.e., Supreme Court Bar Association and the Pakistan Bar Council for authorising them to represent these bodies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024