SC to take up review petitions against reserved seats verdict next week

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up next week review petitions against the apex court July 12, 2024 verdict declaring that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was entitled to get reserved seats for women and minorities in the National and provincial assemblies.

A 13-member constitutional bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, will take up on May 6 the review petitions filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) against the July 12, 2024 verdict in the reserved seats case. Other members of the bench include Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.

Talking to The News, PTI’s senior leader and the party’s counsel Senator Hamid Khan said they will challenge the composition of constitutional bench, adding that legally a review petition was heard by those who had announced the main judgment. In this case, Hamid Khan said most of the judges who had given majority judgment had been excluded from the constitutional bench “which is illegal and this bench cannot hear the revision petitions”.

He said: “Except for Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who has retired, other judges including Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan are available hence they should have been included in the bench hearing the review petition.” He said they will challenge the composition of the constitutional bench in the apex court.