ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling coalition has rejected the formation of an eight-judge bench tasked to hear the petitions against pending legislation meant to clip the powers of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, terming the move “unprecedented” and “unacceptable”, media reports said on Thursday.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) also issued a joint declaration in which it said that the apex court’s move to form a “controversial bench” even before the completion of the legislative process “was never seen in the history of Pakistan and the Supreme Court”, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at depriving the office of the CJP of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity.
It was initially passed by both houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the President sent it back, saying that the proposed law travelled “beyond the competence of parliament”. On Monday, the bill was passed by a joint sitting of Parliament with certain amendments.
The eight-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by the chief justice, will take up a set of three petitions challenging the bill on Thursday, the report said.