Courts bound to go by the book: Sana

ISLAMABAD: Leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that the job of a Supreme Court judge was not to deliver speeches.

Talking in Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’, Rana Sana said that making laws is parliament’s job, while courts are bound to make decisions according to the Constitution and law.

He said that he knows Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah personally. Rana Sanaullah recalled he he was the minister of law and home in Punjab when Justice Shah was the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. “I have had contact with him. He is a very honest and transparent person,” he said and added, “But I regret that I have to comment in your programme while he (Justice Shah) spoke as a judge.”

Rana Sana said, “It is not the job of a Supreme Court judge, a justice, to deliver speeches and present his position. A judge speaks through his decisions.”

Rana Sana said that Justice Masnoor was referring to the implementation of SC judgment as there was no option but to implement it at all costs; it is clear that there is no option to give verdicts in violation of the Constitution and law whether it is high court or Supreme Court. He said the courts have to decide according to the Constitution and law. “The Constitution and law have to be made by parliament. The law which parliament makes, the courts will decide according to it and they cannot decide outside of the Constitution. When the courts decide outside of the Constitution, there would be discussion on them. The law which parliament has made is binding. It is made through spirit of the Constitution and the courts are bound to make decisions according to the law and Constitution.”When asked about the notification of new chief justice, he said that he cannot talk about it, but the notification is usually issued a week before the retirement of chief justice. He said that it can come three weeks before or three months before. But at least it should be issued a week before.

Meanwhile, PMLN Parliamentary Party Leader in the Senate and Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Senator Irfan Siddiqui posed a question to Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah regarding the constitutional requirements for judicial decision to align with the Constitution and law.

He took to social Media Platform “X” and stated, “Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah said that implementation of court decisions is a mandatory constitutional requirement and the administration has no choice but to follow these decisions. While agreeing 100 percent, only so much guidance is required that whether judicial decisions are in accordance with the constitution and the law is also a constitutional requirement or not.”Senator Irfan Siddiqui also questioned whether the judiciary has the option to write a constitution of its own, negating the clear and unambiguous articles of the Constitution. He further inquired, “ If such actions by the judiciary could potentially disrupt the constitutional equilibrium.”