The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) decided on Saturday that the decision on obtaining intelligence reports of candidates for judges’ appointment to the high and top courts is left to the JCP’s discretion.

It was decided in the second meeting on rules in Islamabad, sources said.

Earlier in the day, SC judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah penned another letter to the JCP secretary. There should be a mechanism for the appointment of judges to the constitutional bench within the rules.

Justice Shah expressed his opposition to the practice of soliciting reports from intelligence agencies, warning that granting such agencies a role could lead to misuse.

The JCP has removed the requirement from the rules for a medical test for new additional judges. According to the new rules, it will be at the commission’s discretion whether to obtain a candidate’s intelligence report.

The final draft states that three names would be considered for the high court chief justice and reasons must be provided if a senior judge is not appointed as the chief justice.

Moreover, five names would be submitted from the high court for SC judge appointments.

Sources added that the commission also extended the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench tenure for six months.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi presided over the two meetings of the JCP meeting.

The statement notes that a meeting focused on the rules for the appointment of judges lasted for eight hours, during which public feedback was also reviewed. Justice Muneeb Akhtar participated via video link in the meeting.

It added that the nomination of judges for constitutional benches has been extended for six months.

The second meeting addressed the agenda of extending the constitutional bench, with Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Muneeb Akhtar also participating via video link.

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The constitutional bench was formed after the government narrowly passed constitutional amendments on October 21 giving lawmakers more power to appoint top judges. It also changed the appointment process of the chief justice of Pakistan which was earlier based on the seniority principle.

Under the reforms, new benches would comprise 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.

The decision to maintain the composition of the constitutional bench was made with a ratio of seven to six. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel proposed including all Supreme Court judges in the constitutional bench and seven members voted in favour of maintaining the bench.