Rosters of two SC benches revised

ISLAMABAD: The rosters of Bench 1 and II of the Supreme Court on Wednesday were revised due to the “indisposition” of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and the non-availability of Justice Tariq Masood.

The Registrar delisted all the cases fixed before Bench I comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Justice Athar Minallah, and Bench II comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Shahid Waheed.

The SC Registrar’s Office issued a notification; “It is to inform that the Court Roster regarding Bench-I for Wednesday, 26th April 2023, has been revised due to the indisposition of the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Pakistan.”

Three benches heard the cases: Bench II, comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Aminuddin Khan; Bench III, comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed; and Bench IV, comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi.

The present composition suggested that one section of judges holds the majority in three benches after the revision of the roster for Bench 1.

There is already debate regarding whether the three senior judges committee will start working after the notification of the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023, which clips the CJP’s powers to take suo motu action and constitute benches.

However, an eight-member larger bench of the apex court led by CJP Bandial already suspended the legislation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023