Govt gets its way at JCP, once again

The federal government has once again managed to get its way at the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) which on Saturday rejected a suggestion to nominate all Supreme Court judges to its Constitutional Bench (CB) by a majority vote of 7 to 6.

Most of the JCP's judicial members—Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail—wanted all SC judges to be part of the CB. Two PTI members Barrister Gahar Ali Khan and Barrister Ali Zafar supported their view.

The government representatives in the JCP, however, stated that there was no need to nominate all judges to the special bench that handles constitutional matters. The judicial members faced embarrassment, when their own fellow judge, Justice Aminuddin Khan, did not support their suggestion.

Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) representative Akhtar Hussain also did not endorse the idea regarding nomination of all SC judges to the CB.

Commenting on the development, former additional attorney general Waqar Rana said it is an unfortunate decision as now independence of the judiciary is fully compromised.

"It is tragic that the representative of the PBC always unashamedly votes following the group's lines. The performance of the present CB is abysmal and highly disappointing and a complete capitulation of the judicial power," he added.

On Saturday, the JCP also voted on the extension of the present CB. Majority of the JCP members endorsed extension of the CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan for six months. It is learnt that the majority of the JCP members did not agree to frame rules regarding the nomination of judges for the CB.

Earlier, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah as a member of the JCP had urged that proposed rules must provide a mechanism and criteria for the nomination and determination of the number of judges in the CBs of the Supreme Court and high courts.

"The commission has already nominated and determined a number of judges of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court for the CBs in the absence of any mechanism or criteria in place.

"Therefore, there has been no logic or reason backing the nomination and determination of the number of judges for the CBs of the Supreme Court and Sind High Court," said a nine-page letter written by Justice Shah to the JCP secretary.

Justice Shah suggested that the criteria can include the number of reported judgments of the judges on the interpretation of the Constitution; including dissents or additional notes on constitutional law that have been authored by the judge while being a part of a larger bench hearing important constitutional matters. "The Proposed Rules are currently silent in this respect," he said.

Since November 4, the present CB of the Supreme Court is unable to issue any reported judgement.

Former Sindh High Court Bar Association president Salahuddin Ahmed said all the SC judges on the JCP voted in favor of nominating all SC judges as members of the constitutional bench with the exception of Justice Aminuddin Khan.

"Justice Khan, the present head of the CB, voted in his own favour to continue the present set-up along with all the government nominees. The government eventually got its way and this particular bench will carry on hearing all cases close to the government's heart," he said.

Ahmed said even the notional semblance of a separation between the government and the judiciary is tossed to the wind. "It was time for all judges, including those on the CB, to reexamine their role in allowing the judiciary to become a subordinate department to the government.

"So too, for the representative of the PBC, who must assert the commitment of the bar to an independent judiciary rather than a faithful adherence to the government stance," he added.

Earlier, the JCP thoroughly reviewed the draft of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules 2024. The commission also considered the public feedback received on the proposed rules, and after extensive deliberations, approved the proposed rules with certain amendments.

It is learnt that the approved rules would be made public on the SC website on Monday.