Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has declared the delay in scheduling the court powers case as “contempt of court”, urging Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to address the matter promptly.
In a letter jointly signed by Justices Ayesha Malik and Aqeel Abbasi, concerns were raised over the handling of the court orders, Express News reported.
Sources informed that Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan was also informed through a separate letter, which made reference to the recent inclusion of Justice Abbasi in the court on January 16. The judges expressed their displeasure for not scheduling the case for hearing on January 20.
Judge Mansoor’s letter criticized procedural delays, arguing that the court could have been formed earlier to ensure timeliness of proceedings.
He further stated that non-compliance with court orders undermines the authority of the court.
The issue has sparked debate about judicial practices and compliance within the court’s administrative processes.
The correspondence also mentions the procedure commission of the Supreme Court, which met on January 17. Judge Mansoor highlighted that his position on the matter is already on record.
SC issues contempt notice to additional registrar
Following the issuance of a contempt notice to the additional registrar for not settling 26th Amendment cases before a regular court, the Supreme Court has now listed all the petitions challenging the constitutional change before an eight-member constitutional bench.
The hearing is scheduled for January 27 (Monday).
The move comes after a three-judge regular bench headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah expressed serious concern over the delay in hearing the case in which it was questioned whether the jurisdiction of the SC’s regular benches could be restricted by the 26th Amendment.
The court was surprised that the SC office did not resolve the matter after the committee’s decision, which was not even written.
During Monday’s hearing, Justice Shah’s court criticized the Supreme Court office for not scheduling the case after the committee’s decision, which had not yet been documented in writing. The court issued a show-cause notice to the additional registrar and summoned him for explanations on Tuesday (today).
Earlier, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar had urged Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Khan Afridi to immediately fix hearings for the pleas challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The dispute began on October 31, 2024, when Justices Shah and Akhtar formally addressed a letter to CJ Afridi, urging him to meet under the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, 2023.
