A petition was filed in the SC on Friday to challenge the “attempts to do away with the constitutional jurisdiction of the superior judiciary”, apparently by means of a 27th Constitutional Amendment.
“The said proposal, as publicly reported, contemplates the establishment of separate ‘Constitutional Courts’ and the curtailment or transfer of the existing jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high courts conferred under Articles 184(3) and 199 of the Constitution.
“Such an attempt, if permitted to proceed, would fundamentally alter the constitutional framework, destroy the independence of the judiciary, violate the doctrine of separation of powers, and extinguish the citizens’ right of access to justice and judicial review guaranteed by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973,” the petition, filed by Barrister Ali Tahir, read.
The federation, Senate chairperson and the NA speaker have been named as respondents.
In the plea, Barrister Tahir urged the court to declare that “any proposal, attempt, or measure, whether by way of a bill, draft, discussion, or otherwise, that seeks to curtail, transfer, suspend, or abolish the constitutional jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan under Article 184(3) or the high courts under Article 199 of the Constitution, is unconstitutional, void, and of no legal effect, being violative of the independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers, and the basic structure of the Constitution”.
In this connection, the petitioner urged the apex court to declare that the original jurisdiction of the SC under Article 184(3) “constitutes an essential, inviolable, and non-amendable feature of the Constitution, forming part of its basic structure and fundamental framework, and that no constitutional amendment, legislation, or executive action can lawfully diminish or extinguish the same”.