Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa this weekend once again sought an explanation over the process by which a second clarification was issued by eight judges in the reserved seats case.
On Friday, the eight judges of the Supreme Court that had rendered the majority verdict in the reserved seats case issued a second clarification for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The latest clarification reasserted that the judgment should be implemented forthwith, adding following the issuance of the detailed verdict, no other clarification was required. It observed that the amended Elections Act had no impact on the judgment.
In his latest request for an explanation, the CJP questioned how the eight judges issued a clarification without filing the original file of the case. He also sought personal explanations from Deputy Registrar Mujahid Mahmood, Assistant Registrar Shahid Habib and Webmaster Asim Javed over how the clarification was uploaded on the apex court’s website without filing the original file of the case.
The court had similarly issued a first clarification last month, triggering similar questions from the CJP over when the judges had met and where and how the matter was decided without granting a right of hearing to the petitioners.