The 27th Amendment does not give the FCC authority to reopen SC verdicts, reinforcing judicial finality in public and private disputes
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that a parallel appeal cannot be filed against the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s decision, reinforcing that the top court’s final rulings are beyond review.
The FFC clarified that it cannot consider appeals against final decisions of the SC, marking an important ruling after months of legal uncertainty.
The court said that even after the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the FCC, the new court does not have the authority to oversee or reopen rulings already handed down by the Supreme Court. “The Constitution does not permit endless litigation; every legal battle must have a final conclusion,” the court noted in its written verdict.
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The ruling comes after a series of petitions were filed with the FCC challenging the Supreme Court’s verdicts, raising concerns about parallel litigation and the finality of higher court decisions. The FCC emphasized that while it was created to protect constitutional rights and provide a forum for certain specialized cases, it cannot act as a forum to review final orders of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan dismissed a review petition filed against the Supreme Court’s order of September 12, 2024. The petitioner had argued that in 2015 a three-member bench of the Supreme Court had ruled in his favour, but the verdict was set aside by a two-member bench in 2022. The case concerned a land compensation dispute with the Multan Development Authority.
The FCC held that the land dispute was not of public importance but a private matter and therefore did not justify reopening the Supreme Court’s decision. The court also made it clear that no review could be requested under the guise of “reconsideration” or “corrective measures.”
Read more: FCC closes the door to new litigation
The ruling reinforces the principle of judicial finality and limits attempts to use the FCC to circumvent the authority of the Supreme Court. Following the 27th Amendment, several petitions challenging high court decisions were filed with the FCC, creating confusion over the scope of its jurisdiction. This ruling now establishes that the FCC cannot act as an appellate body over the Supreme Court.
Petitioner’s petition for review before the Supreme Court had also been dismissed prior to the FCC case.
