SC disposed of several 'ineffective cases' in last 40 days

56,000 cases in apex court pending decision

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has dismissed multiple cases in the past 40 days that lacked legal substance, details shared on Saturday showed.

During this period, contempt of court proceedings against politicians were also dismissed.

The amendments made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law also resulted in the dismissal of appeals. However, the court expressed its dissatisfaction with the prolonged detention of innocent individuals by NAB for up to three years.

Furthermore, details revealed that a case regarding the requirement of carrying a coronavirus vaccination certificate during travel was also dismissed on the grounds of ineffectiveness.

The appeal against the rejection of former president Pervez Musharraf's nomination papers, which was filed five years ago, was scheduled for hearing after his demise.

The Supreme Court took up the appeal posthumously against the rejection of his nomination papers by the Appellate Election Tribunal for general elections in 2013.

On January 20, 2022, a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan dismissed Musharraf’s appeal, challenging the verdict of the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the rejection of his nomination papers in the 2013 general elections after it became ineffective.

Musharraf had challenged the SHC’s verdict declaring him disqualified to contest as a candidate of the National Assembly and had pleaded the apex court to annul the judgment against his disqualification.

During the course of proceedings, Musharraf’s counsel had submitted that his client’s second appeal against the PHC verdict was not yet fixed for hearing.

At this, Justice Bandial had directed that another appeal of the former president against the PHC decision should be fixed before a larger bench for hearing and had adjourned the hearing for date-in-office (indefinite period).

Nevertheless, a three-member bench, led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, dismissed the appeal.

Similarly, several other appeals and petitions were dismissed due to their ineffectiveness.

These include an appeal against the bail of Abdul Ghani Majeed, a plea for cancelling the bail of Maryam Nawaz, the approval of resignations submitted by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2014, the recounting of votes in a Lahore constituency, the release of development funds to former provincial members, an appeal by the NAB against PML-N leader Javed Latif, and the cancellation of the bail of PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah

Additionally, the court dismissed the contempt of court proceedings against Ahsan Iqbal.

A two-member bench headed by the CJP Umar Atta Bandial heard the case and dismissed contempt proceedings against the PML-N general secretary.

During the hearing, the CJP said that he found no ground to continue contempt proceedings against the PML-N in A five-year-old case. “Ahsan Iqbal is a decent man and he might have said something in emotions,” remarked CJP Bandial.

The CJP said that no one is above the law and under Article 204 of the constitution contempt of court action against individuals rests with the top court.

Similarly, former president Pervez Musharraf's application for the return of bail bonds in the Akbar Bugti case was rejected by a bench led by Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan due to non-compliance. Likewise, the request to cancel the bail of Fawad Hasan Fawad, retired senior bureaucrat and former principal secretary to former PM Nawaz Sharif, was also dismissed on the grounds of ineffectiveness.

Moreover, a contempt petition was disposed of by a two-member bench led by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail following the death of both parties involved.

The SC also dismissed several NAB appeals in accordance with the amended NAB law.

It is worth noting that the number of pending cases before the Supreme Court has now exceeded 56,000.