SC to unveil verdict in registrar case today

A six-member larger bench also to take up additional registrar's ICA against contempt proceedings

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ISLAMABAD:

A division bench of the Supreme Court is going to unveil its verdict today in a contempt case initiated against an additional registrar of the court for withdrawing a case from the bench.

The bench comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Abbasi had reserved the verdict in the case on January 23. It will unveil its order at 9:30 am.

Interestingly, a six-member SC bench will take up Additional Registrar (Judicial) Nazar Abbas's intra-court appeal against the show cause-notice issued by Justice Shah led bench also today (Monday).

Justice Shah has already raised objection to inclusion of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar in the larger bench that also comprises Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali It all started when a bunch of cases in which vires of Custom Act, 1969 were challenged were listed for hearing before a three-member regular bench led by Justice Ali Shah and comprising Justice Ayesha Malik and Irfan Saadat Khan on January 13.

During the hearing, Justice Shah noted that after the formation of a Constitutional Bench (CB) within the SC in view of the 26th Constitutional Amendment a majority of cases were being shifted to the CB.

He said there was a need to review the jurisdiction of the regular benches in relation to the CB. The bench later issued notices to respondents.

At the next date of hearing—on January 16—on of the members of the bench, Justice Khan, was replaced with Justice Aqeel Abbasi, who had heard the Customs Act's case as a Sindh High Court judge. The bench expressed astonishment at the change in composition of the bench and demanded that the previous bench should be restored as it adjourned the hearing till January 20.

However, an SC committee led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on January 17 directed its office to withdraw these cases from the regular bench and placed them before the CB Committee constituted under Article 191A of the Constitution for re-listing.

This move irked the regular bench members who issued a contempt notice to the additional registrar (judicial). The bench members also wrote a letter to the committee led by CJP Afridi.

In the letter, they stated that a failure of the office to comply with a judicial order of the court not only undermines the institution's integrity but was also in defiance of a settled law by this court that administrative orders cannot take away the jurisdiction of the bench taking cognizance of a matter'.

Despite the letter, the SC regular committee did not review its decision regarding the withdrawal of the case from the regular bench but removed the additional registrar "on account of serious lapse" on January 21.

Meanwhile, Justice Shah and Justice Abbasi continued the contempt proceedings. During the hearing, Justice Shah noted that apparently the SC's regular bench's committee ignored the bench's January 13 judicial order. He stated that the court could issue contempt notice to the committee but would not.