Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has again expressed concern over a clarification issued by eight Supreme Court judges regarding the reserved seats case.
The clarification, related to amendments in the Elections Act 2017, asserts that these amendments cannot override the apex court’s July 12 judgment on the matter, as per The News.
CJP seeks explanation from court officials
On Saturday, CJP Isa called for an explanation from the relevant court officials, questioning how the eight judges issued the clarification without the case’s original file being submitted.
The Chief Justice has requested answers from Deputy Registrar Mujahid Mahmood, Assistant Registrar Shahid Habib, and Web Master Asim Javed regarding the matter.
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Clarification by eight judges
The eight-judge bench, in a majority ruling on Friday, declared that amendments to the Elections Act cannot reverse their earlier judgment retrospectively. Consequently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is bound to implement the court’s judgment fully.
The judges involved in issuing the clarification were Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan. They emphasised that the July 12 decision has a binding effect under Article 189 of the Constitution.
Controversy over uploading of clarification
CJP Isa also raised questions regarding how the clarification was uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website without the original file being processed. No official press release was issued by the court’s Public Relations Department at the time of this report.
