Apex court judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah departed without attending the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Committee meeting in Islamabad on Monday, sources said.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan also left the meeting due to Justice Shah’s absence.

Sources added that both judges waited for Justice Shah to arrive before deciding to leave the session. The lack of attendance from the SC judge led to the early adjournment of the meeting.

It was the first session the federal government promulgated an ordinance to amend the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023. CJP Isa was supposed to preside over the meeting, which was held to decide the formation of benches for the cases to be heard next week.

Last week, CJP Isa changed the composition of the three-judge committee by substituting Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan in place of Justice Munib Akhtar moments after President Asif Ali Zardari signed off the amended Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.

On Friday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed in a statement that President Asif Ali Zardari gave assent to the SC Practice Law, following the federal cabinet’s approval of the ordinance to “serve the public interest”.

Under the previous legal framework, the three-member panel handling cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution—commonly known as the apex court’s suo motu jurisdiction—was required to consist of the three most senior judges.

But a recent ordinance has revised this provision, granting the CJP the authority to select any SC judge to serve as the third member of this panel.

Earlier in the day, Justice Shah announced the majority verdict of the reserved seats case. It was supported by seven other judges: Justices Munib Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Athar Minallah, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed and Irfan Saadat Khan.

“The importance of free and fair elections in a democracy cannot be overstated. The judiciary’s role in ensuring electoral integrity and upholding the will of the people is essential for sustaining public trust in the democratic process,” the order said.