SC disposes of pleas against Practice & Procedure Amend Ordinance
Apex court observes ordinance has ceased to exist after parliament’s legislation
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The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday disposed of the petitions filed against the SC Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance, 2024, saying the ordinance was now history, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
A seven-member bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the petitions.
Justice Amin, on the occasion, remarked that the ordinance had ceased to exist.
Justice Muhammad Ai Mazhar said that the parliament had later done legislation on the subject. “The legislation done by the committee enjoys the status of past and closed transactions.”
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel said that when legislation was done, an ordinance ceased to exist. “The constitution gives to the President of Pakistan the power to promulgate ordinances,” the judge added.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had challenged the ordinance.
Afrasiab Khattak, Ihteshamul Haq and Akmal Bari had filed similar petitions with a request that all decisions and actions taken under the new legislation be declared illegal.
President Asif Ali Zardari had on September 20, 2024 signed the ordinance that allowed changes to the committee formulated to regulate the affairs of the top court
In April 2023, the PDM-led government had passed the SC (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023, which was dubbed by the opposition parties as an attempt to “clip the top judge’s powers of bench formation.”
The bill was soon challenged in the Supreme Court, which in October 2023, declared that the legislation was in accordance with the constitution and, therefore, dismissed the petitions filed against it.