SC Registrar informs CJP: Reserved seats: no cause list or hearing held before issuance of clarification

ISLAMABAD: The Registrar Supreme Court informed the Chief Justice of Pakistan that no cause list or hearing was held in any chambers before the issuance of clarification by eight judges on reserved seats for women and non-Muslims, said the sources.

The sources further said the SC Registrar Office does not have information in which chamber the eight judges sat for hearing of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Election Commission of Pakistan’s applications for clarification on reserved seats.

The sources also said that before uploading the clarification, the case file was not sent to the Registrar Office.

The chief justice asked nine questions from the SC Registrar i.e. 1) When were the said applications filed? 2) Why were the said applications not fixed before the Committee constituted under Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023? 3) How were the said applications fixed for hearing and how was this done without issuance of cause list disclosing their fixation? 4) Did the office issue notices to the parties and to the Attorney General for Pakistan? 5) In which courtroom/chamber were the applications heard, and by whom? 6) Why was a cause list not issued for announcement of the said order? 7) Why was the said order not fixed for announcement? 8) Without first depositing the original file and the said order in the Supreme Court’s office, how was the said order uploaded on the website? 9) Who directed the uploading of the said order on the Supreme Court’s website?

Deputy Registrar Supreme Court on September 16 wrote a note to SC Registrar regarding uploading of clarification order on the apex court website on September 14, mentioning he did not receive the order at 8 pm that day.

“I bring it to your kind notice that news is floating on the media that the Supreme Court has issued clarification of order dated 12-07-2024 passed in C.A. No. 333/2024 (Election – National Assembly /Reserved Seats),” said the note. “However, neither the cause list was issued, nor notices were issued to the parties by the office and the order has still not been received in the office till 08:00 pm and was uploaded on the website,” it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024