Justice Munib Akhtar on Monday skipped a hearing on a petition seeking a review of the 2022 verdict on the defection clause under Article 63A of the Constitution. The review plea, filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), was set to be taken up by a five-member larger bench at 11:30am today. Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the bench was supposed to comprise Justices Akhtar, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel. Justice Akhtar’s decision comes against the backdrop of his removal from the three-judge committee established under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 after the promulgation of an amendment ordinance granting the CJP authority to select any judge as the committee’s third member. In a letter, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, a member of the three-judge committee, had announced boycotting the panel over “unfettered and arbitrary discretion” vested in CJP’s role, while protesting Justice Akhtar’s removal.

In response to Justice Shah, CJP Isa listed several reasons for Justice Akhtar’s removal from the committee, including his alleged indifference to a piling backlog of cases. On Monday, all judges except Justice Akhtar appeared in the courtroom. Justice Isa noted that the judge had penned him a letter stating “I cannot be a part of this bench”. In his letter, Justice Akhtar stated that he could not be a part of the bench formed by the committee under the Practice and Procedure Ordinance. The chief justice said Justice Akhtar was present at the apex court, and adjourned the hearing till tomorrow Tuesday, saying he would ask the judge to be a part of the bench as the review petition ought to be heard by a five-member bench as per the original case.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan