ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice Friday approved a bill aimed at raising the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 25, including the chief justice of Pakistan, days after the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The bill was presented by Senator Abdul Qadir to the committee chaired by the PPP Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, which saw strong opposition from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
Senator Qadir argued that rising population and crime rates have significantly increased the caseload. “The number of judges has remained the same since the 1990s despite the surge in demand,” he said.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Shahadat Awan emphasized the need to raise the apex court judges’ strength to at least 21.
During the committee’s meeting, PTI Senator Hamid Khan said that they have strong reservations over such legislation. “Such a method to appoint SC judges is an attack on judicial independence,” he said.
Khan alleged that the caseload is due to “internal disputes” among top court judges, arguing that “there is no need to increase” the number of judges in the SC. “India, six times larger country, has only 34 top court judges,” he added.
JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza argued that after the passing of constitutional amendments, there is no need to increase the sanctioned strength. “Legislation was meant to appoint favourite judges in the top court. “
