ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench is likely to take up a series of challenges to the 26th Amendment on January 27, besides calling for an inquiry through a judicial commission to determine whether the required votes in favor of the package were voluntary or whether it was coercion or another type of illegality. incentives were at stake.
Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, a seven-judge constitutional bench is expected to begin hearing on January 27 in which the petitioners (bar associations of the apex court as well as individuals) had also requested the SC for a full bench hearing instead of a court hearing. the constitutional court, which was established under the 26th Amendment.
The petitioners also questioned the constitutionality of the constitutional courts, arguing that the SC should declare invalid all amendments for which the votes of the said members, whose electoral disputes were pending, were necessary to reach the numerical threshold prescribed in Article 239.
They asked the high court to strike down the entire 26th Amendment on grounds of procedural irregularity if it was found that the required two-thirds of the legally elected members of each House did not freely exercise their right to vote in favor of it as required by Article 239.
They urge the CS to know the legal status of certain constitutional changes
Alternatively, the petitioners argued, the court should strike down certain provisions of the 26th Amendment because they substantially undermine the independence of the judiciary, which is a prominent feature of the Constitution: namely, the provisions for annual evaluation of the performance of the judiciary. superior court judges. by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan inserted in Article 175A (1) and Article 175A (18) to (20); The provisions relating to the appointment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan are the replacement of Article 175A (3) and the provisions for the Constitutional Benches of the High Court and the High Courts.
As a result, the court must declare that the original Article 175A(3) is applicable and order the federal government to notify the senior judge of SC as CJP in accordance with the original Article 175A(3).
Published in Dawn, January 21, 2025
