‘Leave some cases with us too’: Justice Shah says on constitutional bench

• Shah opposes sending ordinary cases to constitutional bench.   
• “Leave some cases with us too,” says senior most judge.  
• He made the remarks while hearing overbilling case.  

Supreme Court senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday stated that every case should not be transferred to constitutional bench.

Justice Mansoor made the remarks while hearing an overbilling case involving Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) when the petitioner’s counsel apprised the judge that after the enactment of Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024, the case would be sent to the constitutional court.

The senior puisne judge, on a lighter note, remarked: “Leave some cases with us too.”  

The top court’s judge was of the view that there were no significant constitutional or legal questions in this particular case. Wrapping up the case, the judge noted that the petitioner could raise questions in the pending review case.

The development came as Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi is all set to chair maiden meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday (tomorrow) to discuss nomination of judges for constitutional benches in the apex court.

The meeting will focus on establishing the JCP’s secretariat and selecting judges for the constitutional benches. The commission was recently restructured to include parliamentary members following the 26th Constitutional Amendment which introduces reforms allowing a parliamentary committee to choose the CJP.

The reforms also enable the creation of constitutional benches in the Supreme Court and the high courts.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq nominated four parliamentarians from the upper and lower houses on the basis of equal representation of treasury and the opposition, along with one woman for the JCP, making a total of five nominations. He forwarded the names to the JCP secretary for constituting the commission to appoint judges to the higher judiciary.

Those nominated include Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, MNA Sheikh Aftab Ahmed of PMLN from the National Assembly, Farooq H Naek and Shibli Faraz from the Senate, and Roshan Khursheed Bharucha as woman member of the commission. 

According to the 26th Amendment, five members of parliament would be a part of the Judicial Commission and nominations would be made on the basis of equal representation from both the government and opposition sides.