After ex-CJP Khawaja, lawyers Asad Rahim, Zeeshaan Hashmi, challenge 27th amendment’s SC changes

Petition asserts that Entry 55 of Federal Legislative List bars Parliament from legislating on SC’s jurisdiction

A day after former Chief Justice of Pakistan Jawwad S. Khawaja challenged the 27th Constitutional Amendment before the Supreme Court, a group of lawyers, including Asad Rahim Khan and Zeeshaan Hashmi, have also petitioned the apex court against the curtailment of its jurisdiction. 

In a petition filed through their counsel, Umer Gilani ASC, the petitioners have argued that the amendment represents the most severe encroachment on judicial independence, "since the advent of the Government of India Act, 1935". 

Read: Ex-CJP Jawwad S Khawaja challenges 27th Amendment in SC

They contend that the amendment – which creates a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and strips the Supreme Court of key constitutional powers – is illegal, procedurally defective, and unconstitutional. 

The petition asserts that Entry 55 of the Federal Legislative List bars Parliament from legislating on the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, except to enlarge it; hence, creating a new FCC with binding authority over the SC violates this core constitutional safeguard.

The independence of the judiciary, a recognized “salient feature” of the Constitution, is undermined by granting the executive unchecked power to appoint the FCC’s first chief justice and judges. The amendment’s removal of the Supreme Court’s Article 184(3) jurisdiction – its authority to enforce fundamental rights – effectively destroys the Court’s constitutional role as guardian of citizens’ rights.

The petition further contends that the changes enabling forced transfers and premature retirements of judges violate Article 209 and amount to executive capture of the judiciary.

The petitioners, which also include lawyers Shahbakht Pirzada, Usama Rauf, and Hassan Wattoo, have requested that the Supreme Court strike down various provisions of the 27th Amendment for being ultra vires the Constitution and suspend its implementation until a final judgment is rendered.