Islamabad | Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the government to produce the record of parliamentary proceedings regarding a bill aimed at depriving the office of the chief justice of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity and form a panel of judges for hearing of cases.
Relations between the judiciary and the ruling coalition have soured ever since the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led government has been pushing for the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023.
The bill 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".
The bill was, however, passed again by a joint sitting of parliament with certain amendments on April 10 and sent to the president.
But three days after the passing of the bill by the joint parliament session, an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), including CJP Bandial, issued an order that bars the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law.
On Tuesday, the eight-member larger bench led by Chief Justice Bandial heard the case and instructed the attorney general to provide copies of Parliament proceedings regarding the bill.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Bandial said that the law was the first of its kind in Pakistan that impacted the judiciary – the third pillar of the state. "It is, for the first time, claimed that a necessary element of the Constitution is violated through legislation," he said.
He rejected a plea to remove a judge from the bench as a complaint was pending against him. The chief justice also rejected another plea to form a full court to hear the case.
Bandial also criticised political parties, saying they want favourable decisions.
"A free judiciary and Centre are also important features of the Constitution,” he said, adding that the case at hand concerned the independence of the judiciary.
He said that there was no changing the fact that an independent judiciary was a main feature of the Constitution.
