Newly sworn-in Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has decided to provide live streaming services for all courts in the Supreme Court, sources said on Saturday.
He has assigned this task to Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. The service would be conditional upon the consent of the petitioners.
Earlier in the day, Justice Afridi took oath as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan during a ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.
President Asif Ali Zardari officiated the oath-taking for the newly appointed judge, who will serve a fixed three-year term till Oct 26, 2027, following the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Special confidentiality would be maintained during hearings involving female petitioners, based on their consent. The live streaming service would allow access to court proceedings from around the world, enabling overseas Pakistani petitioners to watch their cases being heard in real-time.
As of now, it is only available in the apex court’s courtroom number one. A review is under way for the purchase of necessary equipment, including cameras, to facilitate the need. A committee would prepare a proposal and submit it for final approval to the CJP.
CJP Afridi has restructured the Practice and Procedure Committee, reinstating Justice Akhtar as a member, after the ceremony.
The newly formed committee will consist of CJP Afridi, Justice Shah, and Justice Akhtar. The Supreme Court registrar issued a notification, which stated: “The Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan has been pleased to reconstitute the requisite committee.”
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Initially, the committee was intended to include the three most senior Supreme Court judges to handle cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, commonly associated with the apex court’s suo motu jurisdiction. But following an ordinance last month amending the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023—designed to limit the chief justice’s powers—the top judge now has the authority to select any Supreme Court judge as the third member of the committee.
During a full court reference held on Friday, he emphasised that the “rule of law shall rule” and affirmed the importance of maintaining the principles of the separation of powers in the upcoming period.
