ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench on Wednesday confirmed its authority to hear the case pertaining to the 26th Constitutional Amendment, with Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar emphasizing that judges from all constitutional benches can be summoned if necessary.
The eight-member bench, headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, took up multiple petitions challenging the amendment passed by Parliament last year. The bench includes Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Ayesha A. Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, and Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
The petitions, filed by various political parties such as PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami, Sunni Ittehad Council, as well as several bar associations and former leaders of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council, questioned the constitutional validity of the amendment.
During the hearing, lawyer Abid Zuberi, representing former bar presidents, argued that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) has the authority to order the formation of a full court under Article 75 of the Constitution, which grants broad judicial powers. In response, Justice Amin-ud-Din clarified that such an order would be beyond the jurisdiction of judges outside the constitutional bench and that the CJP does not have administrative authority over this matter.
Justice Ayesha Malik inquired whether Article 191A limited the bench from issuing such directives and noted that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) could be directed to assemble a full court. Justice Musarat Hilali observed that the CJP is itself a beneficiary of the 26th Amendment, while Justice Mandokhail questioned the opposition to including all judges in the proceedings.
After extensive deliberation, the court postponed the hearing to October 20, while reaffirming that the constitutional bench possesses the judicial authority to decide the case.
