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Monday, November 25, 2024  
23 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

JCP nominates nine judges for constitutional benches in Sindh High Court: sources

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi abstains from voting
Photo via Supreme Court of Pakistan/File
Photo via Supreme Court of Pakistan/File

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan nominated nine judges for the constitutional benches in Sindh High Court on Monday, sources said, as Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi abstained from voting.

It was decided during a JCP meeting to the nomination of judges for constitutional benches in the high court. CJP Afridi presided over the meeting.

Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, and Amin-ud-Din Khan, along with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan attended the meeting. Former senator Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, Pakistan Bar Council member Akhtar Hussain, government representatives Farooq Hamid Naek and Sheikh Aftab Ahmad were also present.

Sources added that Justice KK Agha would lead the constitutional benches and the constitutional committee in Sindh. The committee would consist of Justice KK Agha, Justice Umar Sial, and Muhammad Saleem Jasar.

The JCP has nominated justices Zulfiqar Ali Sanghi, Arbab Ali, Yusuf Ali Syed, Khadim Hussain Soomro, and Sana Munas Ikram for constitutional benches.

The decision to form the constitutional benches was made by a majority vote within the commission, with eleven votes in favour of the nine nominated judges, sources added.

Justices Shah, Akhtar, and the SHC chief justice expressed dissenting opinions while CJP Afridi abstained from voting.

In the previous meeting, all judges of the SHC were asked to submit their nominations for the constitutional benches by November 24.

An official announcement regarding the JCP meeting would be released shortly.

It is important to note that the previous meeting did not result in a decision on the judges for the constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court.

The government narrowly passed constitutional amendments on October 21 giving lawmakers more power to appoint top judges, who have issued a series of recent decisions favouring opposition chief Imran Khan.

Under the reforms, new benches would be formed of senior judges from across the country to weigh exclusively on constitutional issues, at the core of disputes between the government and PTI in the Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, the treasury bulldozed bills related to the Supreme Court and armed forces in the National Assembly. Moreover, it took minutes for the Senate to pass the bills.

The bill proposed adding Article 191A to the Constitution, which relates to the formation of constitutional benches, to the preamble. The preamble of the 2023 act stated: “[…] Article 191 of the Constitution allows the Supreme Court to create rules that govern its practice and procedures.”

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Sindh High Court

Judicial Commission of Pakistan

constitutional bench