SC lists important cases for hearing next week

The apex court will take up several important cases, including Supreme Court’s Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi’s plea against the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) proceedings and a petition moved by former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui against the SJC ruling against him, next week.

A three-member senior judges committee led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa approved the listing of the cases for the next in a meeting on Thursday. The committee also formed a nine-member larger bench to take up the presidential reference for revisiting of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto murder case judgment.

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Justice Naqvi had approached the Supreme Court to challenge two show-cause notices issued by the SJC concerning allegations of financial misconduct. The judge contended that the complaints filed against him with the SJC were politically motivated.
Besides, another petition against the proceedings of the SJC had also been scheduled for hearing next week. A five-judge larger bench led by Chief Justice Isa will hear the plea of former judge Shaukat Siddiqui on Dec 14.

The judges’ committee also decided to take up the presidential reference for revisiting a Supreme Court decision in which a seven-member bench upheld the death penalty awarded to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979.

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A nine-member larger bench led by Chief Justice Isa will hear the presidential reference moved by then president Asif Zardari in 2011 on Tuesday, Dec 12. This will be the seventh hearing of the reference, which would be held after a gap of 11 years. The larger bench includes Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musrat Hilali.