CJP-led bench for today delisted due to his 'indisposition'

Ahead of the Supreme Court mandated deadline for political parties to reach a consensus on a new date for elections in Punjab on Wednesday, the roster for Bench 1 of the apex court was revised due to the 'indisposition' of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.

The CJP’s bench was delisted along with all cases before it. The SC Registrar issued a notification delisting the cases but did not specify the reasons.

"It is to inform that the Court Roster regarding Bench-I for Wednesday, 26th April 2023, has been revised due to the indisposition of the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Pakistan."

Earlier, the apex court had asked all political parties to evolve a consensus on the date for holding simultaneous general elections of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies expeditiously; otherwise, the court noted, its order regarding the Punjab Assembly elections on May 14 would come into force.

For today’s SC hearings, a new bench consisting Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Aminuddin Khan was constituted to hear all the cases. The top court's Registrar’s Office released the list of cases the new bench would hear.

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Today’s hearings would be conducted by three benches: Bench 2, comprising Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Aminuddin Khan; Bench 3, comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed; and Bench 4, comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi.

The present composition suggests that one section of judges holds the majority in three benches after the revision of the roster for Bench 1.

Earlier Justice Mandokhail and Justice Minallah were part of the bench led by CJP Bandial.

Two senior judges, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, were also not available for the bench on Wednesday.

There is already debate regarding whether the three senior judges committee will start working after the notification of the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023, which clips the CJP’s powers to take suo motu action and constitute benches.

However, an eight-member larger bench of the apex court led by CJP Bandial already suspended the legislation.