Supreme Court Review Petition Justice Akhtar’s Letter and Bench Dynamics Explained
The civil review petition (CRP) filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBA) was fixed before the bench, which also included Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel.
However, Justice Munib Akhtar declined to sit on the bench. He wrote a letter to the registrar in which he expressed his “inability, at present, to be part of the bench”. He added that it was not a recusal and his “present inability should not be misconstrued or misrepresented as such”.
Justice Akhtar also said in his letter that the five-member bench was formed on September 23 by the judge’s committee, regarding which senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had raised several important constitutional questions and issues.
“I may also note that the bench now constituted includes Justice (R) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, who currently attends sittings of the Court as an ad hoc judge in terms of Article 182,” the letter stated. “With respect, his inclusion in the bench to hear the CRP appears to be contrary to Article 182.”
When the hearing started at around noon time, four judges came to the courtroom instead of five. Chief Justice Isa told the court that the letter written by Justice Akhtar had been received, adding that currently, the judge was not part of the bench.
The chief justice further said that Justice Akhtar had requested that his letter be made part of the judicial proceedings of the review case. However, he added that once a bench was constituted, such a letter could not be made a part of the court proceedings.
Chief Justice Isa said that no judge could be compelled to sit on a bench. He also said that the judge’s committee would review the matter and Justice Akhtar would be asked to join the bench. If the judge did not join the bench then another judge would be included, he added.
The additional attorney general said that an effort should be made to make Justice Akhtar a part of the bench. The SCBA president also expressed the desire that Justice Akhtar become part of the bench and hear the review petition.
