Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-E-Aen Pakistan leader Nawaz Khokhar said on Monday that he would present an appeal after the Supreme Court (SC) returned his request seeking the formation of a complete court to listen to the challenges related to amendment 26, calling the movement an attempt to finish and close the doors of justice.
By increasing objections on its admissibility, the SC registration office sent Khokhar’s request. “The petition does not explain what a matter of public importance has been raised under article 184 (3). An individual complaint cannot be presented under article 184 (3),” said the Registry Office.
He added that the applicant had not met the requirement to invoke article 184 (3). “Multiple sentences have been made in a single petition,” the objections said. The office also said that “the warning issued to respondents is not extracted properly, since it is not mentioned in the same way for which the petition is presented before this court.”
Mustafa Khokhar presented requested in SC
Earlier this month, Khokhar presented a petition that seeks the implementation of a majority decision of the SC Law Committee (Practice and Procedure) (Pope) to fix requests against the 26th Constitutional amendment before a complete court.
The Committee, for a majority 2-1 on October 31, 2023, ordered the SC Registry to list the requests on November 4. However, the cases were not scheduled for the audience.
Through the lawyer Shahid Jamil Khan, Khokhar presented the petition under article 184 (3) of the Constitution, arguing that the committee’s decision remains legal, valid and binding. He argued that neither the registrar nor any administrative authority have the competence to ignore a legal order of the committee.
The petition affirmed that judicial independence is a fundamental constitutional principle, and the deviation undermines the rule of law, just trial and due process under articles 4, 9, 10th and 25.
In addition, he declared that the reasons cited by the president of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi, including informal consultations and jurisdictional objections, do not have a legal basis to annul the formal decision of the committee under the legal mandate.
Khokhar argued that the breach of the order of the committee is equivalent to administrative impropriety, frustrates the legislative intention and undermines the collective authority of the SC, which violates transparency, collegiality and institutional integrity.
The refusal to implement the order, added the petition, deprives the interested parties of their right to a fair audience and the timely award of constitutional challenges, violating articles 4, 10th and 25.
What is the 26th constitutional amendment?
After the ratification of the 26th constitutional amendment, there has been a new selection process for the president of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the country. According to the new law, the CJP will be selected from three senior judges instead of automatically choosing the largest number of older people.
A parliamentary committee of 12 members will decide the name of the CJP, which requires a two -thirds majority. Then the name will be sent to Prime Minister, who will send it to the President for approval.
In cases where a senior judge decreases, the name of the highest judge will be considered. The term for the President of the Supreme Court will last three years or until it reaches the 65 -year retirement age. In addition, the amendment describes that the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court will be administered by a commission led by the President of the Supreme Court.
Also read: The President approves the 26th Constitutional Amendment
This commission will include four senior judges, the Federal Law Minister, the Attorney General and two representatives of the National Assembly and the Senate, together with a representative of the Bar Association with at least 15 years of experience.
The amendment also stipulates that no court, court or authority can challenge the Council sent to the President by Prime Minister or the Cabinet.
In addition, the Judicial Commission will include four members of Parliament to supervise the selection of Judges of the Supreme Court. The Commission will establish the number of constitutional banks and judges within the Supreme Court and the Superior Courts.
The Special Parliamentary Committee, which includes representatives of all political parties, will guarantee a proportional representation, with eight members of the National Assembly and four of the Senate. According to article 184 (3), the Supreme Court will not issue any directive or declaration independently.
