In a move apparently aimed at improving the Supreme Court’s image of impartiality, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial took a different approach to arrange benches for the upcoming week on Saturday.

The updated roster for the the week starting April 10 showed that the chief justice had included Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Yahya Afridi, who had both written dissenting notes in the election delay case, in his own bench.

Sources said that the chief justice had held individual meetings with judges to come up with ways to heal divisions in the court.

The roster shakeups also include Justice Qazi Faez Isa being put in a bench with Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, who the PMLN has accused of supporting Imran Khan, has been put in a bench with Justice Yahya Afridi, who dissented in the election delay case, and Justice Shahid Waheed.

The chief justice has been under fire from the government recently for making benches that seemingly include like minded judges. Apart from demanding his resignation, the government has also tabled a bill that curtails his powers to make or change benches and take suo-motu notices without consulting other senior judges.

Last week a complainet filed against Justice Bandial accused him of keeping a ‘basket’ of like-minded judges that he put togther in benches to get verdicts that were favouring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.