Daily Times

On Thursday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a petition with the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan is seeking to have the ordinance declared “unconstitutional” and is requesting that all decisions made by the Practice Procedure Committee after the ordinance’s approval be deemed “illegal” and “annulled.” The petition also calls for the newly formed committee to be suspended while the case is under consideration, allowing the previous committee to operate during this time.

This legal action comes just a week after the controversial ordinance received approval from the president and federal government. The federal cabinet adopted the ordinance “through circulation” after it was sent by the Ministry of Law to the prime minister and cabinet on September 19.

The ordinance stipulates that court benches will consider cases based on fundamental human rights and public importance, and that each case will be heard in order unless a valid reason is provided for prioritizing a case.

The PTI argues that the ordinance contradicts a previous ruling by the full court in the Raja Amer case and is in violation of several articles of the 1973 Constitution, including those concerning separation of powers and judicial independence.

The petition contends that the ordinance undermines the public’s right to information and the principles of access to justice and fair trial, emphasizing that a separate and independent judiciary is essential. It claims that the ordinance is a direct attempt to interfere with the Supreme Court’s operations and is therefore unconstitutional.

If upheld, the ordinance could allow the government to manipulate case scheduling, particularly in matters of its own interest, which the petition argues would severely compromise judicial independence and fair trial rights.

The petition also points out that Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa replaced the second most senior judge on the committee with the fourth senior judge on the same day the ordinance was published, without providing any justification for this change.

Moreover, the PTI asserts that the government lacks the constitutional authority to dictate the order of case hearings, which could enable it to evade accountability in cases it prefers not to address.

The petition, which includes the federation, law ministry, and President Asif Ali Zardari as respondents, requests that the operation of the ordinance be suspended until the constitutional petition is resolved. It seeks to restrain the newly constituted committee from forming benches or scheduling cases, allowing the original committee to continue its work.