Supreme Court reserves verdict in contempt case against addl registrar
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The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict in a contempt of court case against the additional registrar for failing to schedule a case involving the powers of constitutional and regular benches, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The case was heard by a regular bench comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi.
The proceedings were initiated after the additional registrar did not fix a plea filed by the federal government concerning the jurisdiction of normal benches to rule on constitutional matters.
The legal debate centres around whether regular Supreme Court benches can determine the validity of Article 191-A, introduced through the 26th Amendment, which established the constitutional bench.
During proceedings on Thursday, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked from where the judges committee got the powers to take back the case?
Amis Curie Khawaja Haris said the committee can take back the case as it written in the law that which bench will hear which case.
Justice Aqeel Siddqui asked whether this contempt case can be referred to full court? Khawaja Haris said formation of a full is in the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan and not the judges committee.
Earlier, another amicus curiae Hamid Khan told the Supreme Court (SC) that a judicial order could not be replaced by an administrative one.
During the hearing of the contempt of court case against the additional registrar judicial for not fixing the apex court benches’ jurisdiction case for the hearing, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked whether anywhere in the world the executive, and not the judiciary, formed benches. “Hamid Khan sahib, can you cite only one instance in this regard.”
Hamid stated categorically that nowhere in the world there was such a practice.
A two-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, heard the case.
Justice Mansoor went on to say that the basic question was how on earth could the judges' committee transfer the case to the constitutional bench when the judicial order existed at that time?
Hamid said it was not possible that some SC judges wielded more powers than their colleagues.
He said that the SC had been set up under Article 175 of the constitution.
He said that the definition of the apex court was clear. “According to that definition, all apex court judges could wield their powers. It is not that only some judges are entitled to do that.”
Justice Mansoor said that Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Aminuddin Khan were the committee members. “Prima facie a two-member bench ignored the judicial order,” he said, and added that in his opinion a full court could be formed if the committee of judges overlooked the judicial order.
Justice Aqeel Abbasi opined he had doubts in his mind about that.
Additional Registrar Judicial Nazar Abbas, who submitted his reply to the show-cause notice, prayed to the court to withdraw the notice, saying he had not committed contempt of court.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori