Justice Munib Akhtar on Monday followed up on a letter in which he refused to sit on a larger bench of the Supreme Court by penning a note protesting the hearing of the review against the judgment on Article 63A by a four-judge larger bench.
In his initial note, addressed to the registrar, Justice Akhtar had refused to participate in the larger bench, citing his concerns about the legality of an ordinance amending the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023. In the same note, he had explained that his inability to sit on the bench should not be misconstrued as recusal and had urged for a full court meeting to examine the amended legislation.
Justice Akhtar described the order issued by the four-judge bench as “no order in law and therefore of no consequence” after it was presented to him with a request to rejoin the bench. The order had noted that if Akhtar refused the request, the judges’ committee would have no choice but to appoint another judge on the bench.
Justice Akhtar said he was at a loss to understand how the five-judge bench could be “converted” into a four-member bench. He noted that the order included spaces for five signatures, with the place where he would put his signature left blank. This further confirms the review petition was to be heard by the five-member bench, Justice Akhtar maintained, adding four judges could not then have sat and heard the matter.
“Respectfully, it is not acceptable to me. I have all the respect for the four judges who sat in court and purported to conduct the hearing in the review petition,” Justice Akhtar said, adding he must once again draw attention to his earlier note.
Subsequently, on Tuesday morning, Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa called a meeting of the judges committee, which was attended by himself and Justice Aminuddin Khan. Senior puisne Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remained absent, as he had earlier voiced concerns over the legality of the ordinance and expressed displeasure at Akhtar’s replacement in the committee with Khan. The judges’ committee on Tuesday morning formed a five-member larger bench by including Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.