Top court directs AGP to submit record of NA proceedings on SC bill

Islamabad: The Apex Court on Monday directed Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan to submit the record of parliamentary proceedings pertaining to the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill case by Tuesday.

The eight-member larger bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyad Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed heard the case.

During the course of proceedings, AGP Mansoor Usman Awan said the Federal Government and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had filed separate petitions for the formation of a full court bench.

The CJP asked the AGP whether he had submitted the record of parliamentary proceedings. The AGP replied that his office had contacted the National Assembly Speaker’s office formally and informally, and expected to receive the record by tomorrow (Tuesday).

He said only the full court could amend the rules of the apex court. It was all the more necessary as the law would also be directly applicable to the judges who were not hearing the case.

Justice Naqvi asked whether such legislation had been passed in the past. The AGP replied that the President’s permission was required to make the rules until 1992.

Justice Naqvi asked how could such legislation be made in the presence of Article 91. The AGP said the President’s permission was withdrawn while the provision to make the rules in accordance with the Constitution and the law was retained. He stressed that the full court bench should be formed as such a case had never come in the past.

Justice Ayesha Malik said many cases filed in the court were first of their kind.

The AGP said the full court did not hear all cases of judicial independence but many cases, including former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry’s case were heard by the full court.

Justice Ayesha Malik asked how could the court regulate its proceedings at the request of the petitioner.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz counsel Barrister Salahuddin said the implementation of the law had been stopped through an injunction for the first time.

He said a full court bench was constituted in the Inspectorate General of Prisons case.

Subsequently, the court ordered the Attorney General to submit the record of the parliamentary proceedings by tomorrow and adjourned the case for three weeks.

with additional input from APP.