Disgruntled SC judges not likely to resign

Contrary to rumors circulating on social media, there are no clear indications that senior Supreme Court judges, including Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who was deprived of the opportunity to be elevated as the next chief justice of Pakistan at the eleventh hour, will resign.

After the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment on October 21, which changed the procedure for appointing the top judge, a newly formed parliamentary committee hurriedly selected a much junior SC judge, Yahya Khan Afridi, for the position. Justice Afridi is set to take his oath on October 26 (tomorrow).

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has traveled to Saudi Arabia for Umrah and is expected to return in a week. According to sources, Justice Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Athar Minallah previously worked together at the Afridi, Shah & Minallah law firm.

Legal experts believe that statements in favor of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah from former prime minister Imran Khan have affected his reputation.

There were some circles within the government that expressed opinions about the issuance of Justice Shah's notification as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan. However, this ongoing effort began to be negatively impacted when a second clarification was issued by eight SC judges, led by Justice Shah, regarding a case related to the allocation of reserved seats to the PTI.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, among other ministers, openly expressed concerns that there is a risk of an audit of the February 8 general elections.

Interestingly, Justice Athar Minallah had previously observed in the case related to reserved seats that the most significant pending petition concerning fundamental rights relates to allegations of electoral rigging in the general elections.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Law and Justice on Thursday clarified certain misconceived interpretations made in the press and social media with regard to the Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 2024.

In a press release, the ministry said the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) in terms of Article 175A (2) of the Constitution now comprises 13 members.

In its first meeting, the commission shall nominate judges in terms of Article 191A to form constitutional benches of the Supreme Court and the senior most judge amongst the nominated judges shall be the most senior judge of the constitutional benches.

It said that the senior most judge of the constitutional benches shall also become a member of the commission. If he is already a member of the commission, then the next senior judge of the constitutional benches shall become a member of the commission.