Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday constituted five benches for a number of important cases in the coming week including a petition filed by Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, challenging Sindh Local Government Act 2012.
The Supreme Court issued notices to the Attorney General for Pakistan and Sindh's top legal officer to appear before the Court on November 8. Ghumro affiliated with Sindh Bachayo Committee pleaded that the Act be declared illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful arguing that most of the provisions of the law are wholly or partially in contradiction to Articles 2, 5, 9, 25, 97, 129, 130, 137, 142 and 175 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Ghumro prayed the court to bar the Sindh government from transferring its departments or assets and resources under schedule 1 of the Act to metropolitan corporations, district councils, Taluka and town municipal administrations and union councils till the court decision on the petition.
At Islamabad Registry, five benches will hear a number of cases during the coming week. The first bench consists of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed; the second bench comprises Justice Tassadaq Jilani, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany; the third bench would consist of Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim; bench four consists of Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain; and fifth bench comprised of Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Asif Saeed Khan.