No room for second review in Constitution, says SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday said there is no concept of second review under the Constitution and dismissed a review petition in a case related to allotment of a plot.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umer Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, dismissed the plea seeking a second review in the matter. During the proceedings, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah observed that there was no place for a curative petition under the law of the land.

"One will have to go to India for seeking relief in second review as there is no place here under the law of Pakistan,” Justice Mansoor Ali Shah observed, adding that the concept of second review is only available in India but not here in Pakistan. The judge observed that even in death sentence cases, the second review petitions are not entertained, then how this matter could be entertained. “Your Cantonment plot is not more important than anyone’s life,” Justice Mansoor Ali Shah told the petitioner’s counsel.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that in the past, the apex court had declared many second review petitions as maintainable. At this, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked the counsel to go through the judgment he is referring to, which had clearly stated that there is no space for the second review.

Justice Umer Ata Bandial observed that the apex court can set aside its own judgment if there is any issue of public interest and is related to fundamental rights. However, there is no room available for a second review under the Constitution of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the court dismissed the second review petition sought by the petitioner. It is pertinent to mention here that in May, the government had filed a curative review petition against the order of the majority in the review petitions of Justice Qazi Faez Isa passed on April 26, 2021. The registrar of the Supreme Court had returned the instant petition after raising objections to it, saying that once the review petition is decided, it cannot be reviewed.