Three PDM parties move Supreme Court for full bench minus two judges

ISLAMABAD: Three main political parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) requested the Supreme Court on Saturday to constitute a bench comprising all judges, excluding Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi, to hear the suo moto case on the delay in holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam filed a joint application in the apex court under Order XXXIII Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 through their respective counsel.

The other day, Farooq H Naek had read out a joint statement of the three coalition parties in the court during the hearing of the suo moto case, seeking the recusal of both judges from the nine-member bench in the interest of justice, fair play, and to protect the fundamental right to a fair trial and due process.

The three parties recalled that during the suo moto hearing held on February 23, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel of the bench had read out his note in the open court and raised objections to the effect that two-member bench had already rendered a definite opinion on the issue as recorded in the order dated February 16, 2023, it would amount to a violation of Article 10A rights of the parties involved.

They also stated that Justice Mandokhel had stated that it was not appropriate to refer the matter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and that the suo moto action was not justified.

The three parties of the PDM further submitted that the circumstances have raised “several questions of immense legal, constitutional, and public importance,” adding that Justice Mandokhel’s observations also “raise significant constitutional questions” regarding the manner the suo moto powers are to be exercised under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

“Consequently, a bench comprising all judges of the Supreme Court, excluding Justice Ijazul Ahsen and Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi (who have already disclosed their mind in the instant matter) must be constituted to hear the titled petitions in the interest of justice and fairness,” the coalition parties contended.

On Friday, the nine-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial adjourned until February 27, the suo moto case and held that the court will examine all the questions raised in the petitions filed by the Islamabad High Court Bar Association president and speakers of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

The chief justice also said that the court will look into the matter on Monday (February 27) on the constitution of the full court and the objections raised over the two members of the bench.