ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday to clip the powers of the country's top judge, preventing him from taking suo motu notices in an individual capacity on issues of fundamental rights and constitute benches for various cases. 

Seeking amendments to the existing law, the bill was tabled by Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Tuesday after two Supreme Court judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, wrote in a dissenting note that the office of the chief justice enjoyed "unbridled powers." The judges also said the chief justice's "one-man show" in the judiciary needed to be revisited.  

The development also takes place at a time when all eyes are on the Supreme Court of Pakistan, as it hears a petition filed by former prime minister Imran Khan's political party challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to delay polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab provinces to October 8. 

The bill, titled 'The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023', would become law once it is also passed by the Senate—the upper house of Pakistan's bicameral parliament—and receives the president's formal approval. 

A copy of the bill seen by Arab News says that a three-member committee, comprising the chief justice and two of the most senior judges of the apex court, would constitute a bench that would have the power to hear and dispose off a cause, matter or appeal. The decisions of the committee would be made by majority, it added. 

Regarding the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction, the bill says any matter invoking the use of Article 184 (3) [referring to suo motu notices] would first be placed before the committee. In suo-motu cases, the court would itself take cognizance of the matter and initiate proceedings instead of the parties presenting a case or controversy to its attention.

“If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights... is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter,” the bill reads.

The bill grants the right to appeal in suo motu cases, with the appeals to be fixed before the court within a period not exceeding 14 days.

Speaking on the floor of the house, Tarar said it was the assembly's right to legislate on issues of public importance, adding that all six bar councils across Pakistan have lauded the bill.

“There is no need for a constitutional amendment [to regulate powers of the office of chief justice],” he pointed out, adding that the Supreme Court has been making its rules as per the constitution and law since 1980.

Meanwhile, the apex court adjourned a hearing on the petition filed by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on the delay in polls in KP and Punjab, till tomorrow, Thursday.

ECP's lawyer Sajeel Swati assured the court during the hearing that the ECP was prepared to hold elections if it is provided with the required funds and security personnel to do so. 

Swati informed the court that Pakistan's intelligence agencies provided the commission secret reports of the presence of militant outfits in parts of KP and Punjab, adding that the ECP faces a shortage of 297,000 security personnel to conduct polls peacefully.

He said the finance ministry had also declined to release the required funds during the current financial year that were required to hold the polls.

In response, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that Pakistan had been facing "terrorism" for the past 20 years yet elections were still held in the country. 

The chief justice directed the ECP lawyer to appear again on Thursday with "full preparation" and ordered Pakistan's attorney-general to consult the interior and defense ministers on the minimum time the government required for elections.

Khan, who was ousted in a vote of confidence in April last year, has rejected the election commission's decision to delay the polls. The cricketer-turned-politician says the move is a larger plot to delay polls as the incumbent government is afraid of his rising popularity, which he says has helped him win a string of by-elections in the past couple of months.