Justice Isa case: CJ can’t form bench to hear review petition, says SCBA chief

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abdul Latif Afridi told the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday that the chief justice of Pakistan had no discretion for constituting a bench for hearing a review petition.

He submitted his written arguments before the SC over the constitution of a bench for hearing review petitions in presidential reference, filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

“As the law stands, the court or the chief justice has no discretion as far as the number of judges of the review bench is concerned, because judgment/ order of the majority is the judgment/ order of the court,” Afridi stated in 14-page written arguments. Moreover, he contended that the chief justice of Pakistan did not have much discretion when the same judges were physically available and practice of the court was no different. “However, if after reasonable efforts, the presence of a judge/ judges of the original bench cannot be ensured then exceptionally other judges could be made part of the review bench,” the SCBA president added.

He contended that circumstances of every case might differ; however, in the present case, all judges were available except one judge who recently retired.