Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench To Commence Hearings From Thursday

Bench fixing committee resolves to proceed with available judges in absence of Justice Ayesha Malik and that priority shall be accorded to the oldest cases

Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench To Commence Hearings From Thursday

The Constitutional Bench headed by Justice Aminuddin will commence hearings of important constitutional cases on November 14 (Thursday). The bench, however, will hear cases in the absence of one member, Justice Ayesha Malik.

This was decided on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, in a meeting of the bench fixing committee constituted under Article 191-A (4) of the Constitution. The meeting had been convened at the Supreme Court in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Justice Aminuddin Khan to discuss matters related to the constitution of the constitutional bench. The meeting was attended by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar (who joined via telephone from Karachi).

During the meeting, the registrar's office informed the committee about pending cases that fall within the jurisdiction of the constitutional bench. After thorough consideration, the committee resolved that priority shall be accorded to the oldest cases.

Given Justice Ayesha Malik's unavailability to hear cases on November 14 and 15, 2024, it was resolved that a bench comprising all available judges shall be constituted to proceed with cases on these dates. The registrar's office was directed to list these cases accordingly for hearing before the bench.

The committee further resolved to reconvene on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at 12:30pm at the Supreme Court upon the arrival of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar in Islamabad for further deliberations.

The writer is an Islamabad based journalist working with The Friday Times. He tweets @SabihUlHussnain