Justice Aminuddin Khan to head new constitutional bench in SC

ISLAMABAD: In its maiden session, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) — reconstituted under the 26th Amendment — appointed Justice Aminuddin Khan as head of the seven-judge constitutional bench by a majority vote of seven to five, with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi among the dissenting members.

The seven-judge constitutional bench includes representatives from all four provinces: Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Ayesha A. Malik from Punjab, Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Naeem Akhtar Afghan from Balochistan, Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Hassan Azhar Rizvi from Sindh, and Justice Musarrat Hilali from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Justice Amin­uddin, who ranks fourth in seniority among Supreme Court judges, will lead the bench.

Those in the minority were CJP Yahya Afridi, senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, PTI leaders of the opposition in the Senate and the National Assembly Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub.

The members in majority were Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, MNA Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, Roshan Khursheed Bharucha and Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) representative Akhtar Hussain.

The nomination for the constitutional bench is set for a period of 60 days as per legislation passed by parliament on Monday night that increased the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 34.

CJP Yahya Afridi, who presided over the JCP meeting, sha­red the judges’ views on the constitutional bench under Article 175(A) of the Constitution, suggesting a specific duration for the bench. Other participants also voiced their views, which were thoroughly debated. Ultimately, by a seven-to-five majority, the JCP approved a seven-member constitutional bench with representation from all four provinces, set for a two-month term.

With the Sindh Assembly having already passed a resolution to form a constitutional bench in the province by a simple majority under Article 202-A of the newly enacted 26th Amendment, another JCP meeting is expected in two weeks to nominate judges from the Sindh High Court for its constitutional bench.

During the meeting, Akhtar Hussain of PBC suggested that the judges appointed to the constitutional bench should be selected by seniority, excluding those who had benefited from the parliamentary panel or were considered for the CJP position.