Review petition: SC denies AG's request to form larger bench
AG argues that composition of the bench cannot be changed to hear review matters.
ISLAMABAD:
While hearing the government’s petition against the court's directives given to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to write a letter to the Swiss authorities, the Supreme Court denied the attorney general's request to form a larger bench, Express News reported Wednesday.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir said that the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the contentious Contempt of Court Act 2012 and the government’s review petition in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case were interconnected and that a larger bench should be formed to hear the cases.
Heading a five-member bench, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa snubbed the attorney general’s request and said that the hearing of the review petition does not have anything to do with the NRO implementation case.
The attorney general argued over the composition of the bench and said that it cannot be changed to hear review matters.
The attorney general also requested the court to reschedule the hearing of the review petition after Eid, as the judge who was replaced in the bench will be available after Eid. However, this request was also denied by the bench.
While presenting his arguments before the bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, AG Qadir said that a few actions do not come under the domain of the prime minister and writing a letter to the Swiss authorities is one such action.
He argued that the court should not give directives to PM Ashraf which he cannot comply with.
During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had directed Ashraf to write a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
While hearing the government’s petition against the court's directives given to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to write a letter to the Swiss authorities, the Supreme Court denied the attorney general's request to form a larger bench, Express News reported Wednesday.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir said that the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the contentious Contempt of Court Act 2012 and the government’s review petition in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case were interconnected and that a larger bench should be formed to hear the cases.
Heading a five-member bench, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa snubbed the attorney general’s request and said that the hearing of the review petition does not have anything to do with the NRO implementation case.
The attorney general argued over the composition of the bench and said that it cannot be changed to hear review matters.
The attorney general also requested the court to reschedule the hearing of the review petition after Eid, as the judge who was replaced in the bench will be available after Eid. However, this request was also denied by the bench.
While presenting his arguments before the bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, AG Qadir said that a few actions do not come under the domain of the prime minister and writing a letter to the Swiss authorities is one such action.
He argued that the court should not give directives to PM Ashraf which he cannot comply with.
During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had directed Ashraf to write a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.