Delay in fixing review petition against verdict on reserved seats to be unjust, unfair: CJP
Pakistan
SC released minutes of July 18 meeting of the three-judge Practice and Procedure Committee
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has said it would be unjust and unfair if the review petitions against the Supreme Court’s reserved seats case ruling were not fixed urgently.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Saturday released minutes of the July 18 meeting of the three-judge Practice and Procedure Committee, during which Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa called for urgently scheduling the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) review petition against the reserved seats verdict for a hearing.
However, Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar opposed it, citing that many judges from the original 13-member bench were on vacation and awaiting a detailed order.
“It would be unjust and unfair if the review petitions against the Supreme Court’s reserved seats case ruling were not fixed urgently,” CJP Isa was quoted as highlighting in the minutes of the meeting.
The committee, mandated under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, included Justice Munib Akhtar, who is on vacation and participated via video link from Karachi.
According to the minutes, the registrar highlighted two urgent applications filed alongside the review petitions, arguing that a 15-day timeline imposed by the order under review could render the petitions infructuous if implemented.
Review petitions have been filed by the ruling party PML-N and its members against the July 13 ruling, which allocated additional parliamentary seats to Imran Khan’s PTI.
Earlier in the week, a full-court bench overturned decisions of the Peshawar High Court and Election Commission, reinstating reserved seats for the PTI after designating it a political party.
