‘Suo motu’ not specifically mentioned in Constitution: Palijo

Qomi Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo has called upon the Supreme Court to decide all matters related to Article 63-A of the Constitution through a full bench.

Palijo, a senior advocate who also teaches law, emphasised the need to deal with cases pertaining to disqualification of politicians on grounds of party defection through a full bench.

He also demanded equal justice for political prisoners from all four provinces without any discrimination based on domicile or political party's popularity.

Palijo contended that the Constitution does not specifically mention "suo motu" jurisdiction. "Therefore, if the Chief Justice of Pakistan takes a suo moto notice, the matter should be judged by a bench of not less than five justices", he said. Palijo emphasised that the CJP should not be a part of such a bench under the principle of natural justice, which states "nemo judex in causa sua."

Palijo also demanded that the general elections of the National Assembly and all four provinces should be held on the same day. He suggested that the apex court should constitute a larger bench to revisit and review its old politicised decisions, including the death penalty given to former Prime Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP's) Chairman Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto under Article 188 of the Constitution.

Article 188 of the Constitution reads: "The Supreme Court shall have power, subject to the provisions of any Act of [Parliament] and of any rules made by the Supreme Court, to review any judgement pronounced or any order made by it."

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2023.