Islamabad: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah Recommends Delaying Judicial Commission Meeting Until Verdict on 26th Constitutional Amendment Cases
Senior Supreme Court judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, has proposed to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi to postpone the Judicial Commission meeting scheduled for December 6 until the pending petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment are resolved.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah requested the formation of a full court bench to hear these petitions. He further urged the Supreme Court Registrar to schedule these cases for hearing.
Justice Shah highlighted that the Judicial Commission was restructured under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and over two dozen petitions challenging this amendment are currently awaiting a decision. He emphasized that if the petitions are upheld, it could render the decisions of the Judicial Commission invalid, causing potential embarrassment for the institution and its members. Therefore, he suggested deferring the Judicial Commission meeting until a verdict is reached.
In his letter, Justice Shah pointed out that resolving these petitions would provide clarity and establish the legal status of the Judicial Commission once and for all. He noted that despite a decision during the October 31 meeting—attended by Justice Muneeb Akhtar and himself—to schedule these petitions for a full court hearing, the Registrar has not yet complied.
Justice Shah underscored the critical importance of resolving the legal challenges to the 26th Constitutional Amendment. He clarified that under Article 191-A, regular Supreme Court benches cannot hear constitutional petitions, but a full court bench is authorized to do so.
