ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Wednesday refused to give his assent to a bill, aims at clipping powers of the chief justice of Pakistan’s office, for a second time and observed the matter was sub judice before the apex court.
“The matter of competency of legislation and validity of the bill is subjudice now before the highest judicial forum of the country. In deference to the same, thereto no further action is desirable,” he said in his reply.
صدر مملکت نے سپریم کورٹ ( پریکٹس اینڈ پروسیجر) بل، 2023 ء دستخط کیے بغیر واپس بھیج دیا
قانون سازی کی اہلیت اور بل کی درستگی کا معاملہ ملک کے اعلیٰ ترین عدالتی فورم کے سامنے زیر سماعت ہے، صدر مملکت
معاملہ زیرسماعت ہونے کے احترام میں، بل پر مزید کوئی کارروائی مناسب نہیں، صدر
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 19, 2023
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 is aimed at curtailing “suo motu powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in an individual capacity” and giving the right to appeal in all suo motu cases with retrospective effect.
The federal cabinet approved the draft bill on March 28 and then passed by both houses of parliament — the National Assembly and Senate — only for the president to refuse to sign it into law with the observation that it travelled “beyond the competence of parliament”.
However, a joint session of parliament passed it again on April 10 with certain amendments amid a noisy protest by PTI lawmakers.
Now again the bill was referred to President Dr Alvi for his assent and as per the Constitution, in case of the bill not being signed by him within 10 days, his assent would have been deemed granted.
But three days after passage of the bill by the joint session of the parliament, an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), including CJP Umar Ata Bandial, barred the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law.
“The moment that the bill receives the assent of the president or it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner,” read the SC’s interim order.
The apex court’s pre-emptive move has received criticism from the ruling coalition at the Centre. The federal government has also raised objections to the eight-member bench that has taken up the matter, terming it “controversial and unilateral”, and so has the Pakistan Bar Council.
