Section 4 of SC Practice & Procedure Bill 2023 challenged in LHC

LAHORE: A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging Section 4 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023.

Petitioner Mashkoor Hussain filed the petition through Advocate Nadeem Sarwar and listed the Federation of Pakistan through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Islamabad, Federation of Pakistan through the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Cabinet Division, and the President of Pakistan through his principal secretary as the respondents in the case.

The joint sitting of the parliament passed the bill with amendments days after President Dr Arif Alvi returned the proposed piece of legislation seeking cut in the chief justice of Pakistan’s powers to initiate suo motu and constitute benches.

In the petition, submitted before the high court, the petitioner prayed that the court should suspend the operation of the aforementioned “impugned section” till disposal of the petition.

The petitioner requested the court to declare the bill ultra vires of the Constitution of Pakistan.