Supreme Court issues notice on petitions against the 26th constitutional amendment

Islamabad – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday issued notices in response to petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the formation of a full court to hear the case, and the live broadcast of the court proceedings.

An eight-member constitutional bench, led by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and including Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Shahid Bilal, convened to hear the petitions.

During the proceedings, advocates Hamid Khan and Faisal Siddiqui requested that a full court be formed to hear the case. However, Justice Mandokhail clarified that the Judicial Commission nominates judges for the Constitutional Bench, and all judges selected for this bench had been appointed through this process. He further emphasised that a full court could not be formed based on individual requests.

Justice Mazhar suggested that the current bench should be regarded as a full court, to which the counsels insisted on having all Supreme Court judges included in the bench. Their request was ultimately rejected.

Justice Mandokhail remarked that the current bench, which includes all the judges nominated for the constitutional case, is effectively a full court. Justice Ayesha Malik also noted that there is no restriction against forming a full court, though she did not clarify further.

In his arguments, Advocate Siddiqui contended that the 26th Constitutional Amendment violated the principle of separation of powers. Advocate Aziz Bhandari raised concerns about the incomplete representation of the House during the approval of the amendment. However, Justice Mandokhail asked whether the voting for the 26th Amendment was based on the total number of members or only those present in the House at the time. Siddiqui acknowledged that the voting had been conducted with those members present.

Justice Ayesha Malik further questioned whether all provinces were fully represented in the House, particularly pointing out the incomplete representation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Senate at the time of the amendment’s approval.

After considering the arguments, the court issued notices on the petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment. It also took up the petitions related to the formation of a full court and the live streaming of proceedings. The hearing has been adjourned for three weeks.

A total of two dozen petitions, including those filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have been lodged against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, raising concerns about its legality and implications.