Nawaz rejects three judge SC bench

Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif has demanded formation of a full court to hear the petition filed against postponement of polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) provinces, warning that his party will not accept the decision of the existing bench.

“Everyone agrees that a full court should be formed to hear the election case as it is not a petty matter involving a truck or wheelbarrow but a national issue,” said Nawaz, who has been living in London in self-imposed exile since November 2019, in a rare interaction with a group of journalists on Friday.

“[I suggest that unilateral] decisions should not be imposed on us. How can we accept the decision of the bench when we don’t accept the bench itself,” the deposed premier said in a reference to the three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s March 22 notification, announcing postponement of elections in Punjab, earlier scheduled for April 30.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by CJP Bandial, was formed to hear the PTI’s petition.

The PML-N led federal government had demanded formation of a full court to decide the matter while some key leaders of the ruling party had openly criticized some senior judges including the CJP.

The government also hurriedly drafted the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023, a piece of proposed legislation that aimed at curbing the top judge’s suo motu powers. The bill sailed through both the National Assembly and the Senate respectively on March 29 and March 30.

On Wednesday—March 29—an SC bench led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa held that all cases that various Supreme Court benches were hearing under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution be postponed until amendments are made in the Supreme Court Rules 1980 regarding the discretionary powers of the CJP.

On March 30, when the five-judge bench resumed hearing of the polls postponement case Justice Aminuddin Khan—who had endorsed Justice’s Isa’s ruling—announced that he wanted to recuse himself. Another member of the bench, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, followed suit.

CJP Bandial, however, once again rejected the government’s request on Friday to form a full court.

Nawaz said the decision of a full court would be acceptable for all including the PML-N.  “But it is said that now a three-judge bench will decide the matter. The people must understand the joke being played on them,” he added.

The former premier also lambasted some former judges including Justice (retd) Saqib Nisar, asking them to tell the nation why they disqualified him in 2017. A five-judge bench of the apex court on July 27, 2017 disqualified Nawaz Sharif for life for hiding his salary in his 2013 nomination papers.

The former premier claimed that the verdicts of such benches had Pakistan put on the verge of destruction. “Even today they want to impose their decision on the people but we will not let anyone push the country into chaos.”

Nawaz asked why the apex court did not take suo motu notice of the revelation made by former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and the injustice meted out to Islamabad High Court former judge Shaukat Aziz Saddiqui and him.
“[Supreme Court judge] Justice Mazahar Ali Abkar Naqvi is a fit case for accountability, which should be taken up by the Supreme Judicial Council,” he added.

Meanwhile, PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz once again aimed her guns at Justice Bandial, claiming that the chief justice had lost trust of his fellow judges and his verdicts now had no legal or moral authority.

In a tweet, Maryam said she shared Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail’s prayers for divine mercy on the apex court. “It is the responsibility of the entire nation to prevent the ‘house of justice’ from becoming the ‘house of PTI’ on behalf of a few facilitators. A one-man show will lead to disaster,” she wrote.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also urged CJP Bandial not to "push the country into anarchy", asking him to constitute a full court bench to hear the case about postponement of polls.

Speaking to reporters outside the apex court, the interior minister said that the bench, which originally comprised nine members, had dwindled down to seven, then five, and subsequently to four with yet another judge recently stepping down.

Sanaullah stressed that it was imperative for the chief justice to ensure that justice is served. He urged him to constitute a full bench in the case, saying that failure to do so would result in the country falling into "chaos and anarchy".