In a podcast with journalist Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui, Matiullah said that the speed with which the bench has been formed is also something to ponder upon.
He further said that the bench constituted includes the judges who have expressed their opinion about special benches and the date of the elections.
This basically points to a conflict of interest. "It is clearly a like-minded bench and an attempt to send a message that the decision will that of a majority bench."
Matiullah termed the move an attack on the Parliament's powers of legislation, before it formally turns into a law.
Earlier today, an eight-member larger SC bench was formed to hear the petitions against the bill seeking to clip the CJP's powers.
As per the court’s roster, the bench includes CJP Umar Ata Bandial, and Justices Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Mazahar Naqvi, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Shahid Waheed.
The respondents include the government through the secretaries of law, Senate, and National Assembly.
On April 8, President Arif Alvi returned the bill, titled Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 to the Parliament for reconsideration, in accordance with the provisions of Article 75(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan.
It was adopted by the Senate on March 30, after being adopted by the National Assembly and approved by the Cabinet.
According to the draft legislation, any matter invoking exercise of original jurisdiction under Article 184 (3) shall be first placed before the committee of three senior-most judges.
The legislation also calls for appeals within 30 days of a verdict, which is issued on a suo motu case and suggests that a bench be formed to hear such an appeal within 14 days.