Islamabad:
During the hearing of appeals against the declaration of invalidity of Section 221A of the Customs Act in the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that is it possible that some Supreme Court judges can be deprived of hearing constitutional matters?
A three-member bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan heard the case.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that a provision of the law has been declared null and void in this case. Is it possible that some judges of the Supreme Court can be deprived of hearing constitutional matters? The bench will formulate some legal questions in this regard. Barrister Salahuddin, please assist us in this matter.
According to the news agency, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that the jurisdiction of the court was taken away through Article 191A. Can the jurisdiction be taken back from us?
This is a matter of interpretation of the Constitution and under the current constitutional arrangement, this bench does not have this authority, but the question is, can the jurisdiction be taken away from us? This is a question of the independence of the judiciary, how can a separate bench be created within this court?
This conflicts with the provisions of independence and authority of the judiciary, we will look at this issue first.
Lawyer Salahuddin said that the jurisdiction of the court cannot be taken away. During the martial law era, when the constitution was suspended, the court did not accept such measures. The tribunals created parallel to the court were abolished. Whenever the matter of jurisdiction is a matter, the court has defended the independence of the judiciary by showing strong resistance. The court adjourned the hearing of the case for 15 days.