SC four-member bench dissolves once again

Islamabad: The five-member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday dissolved again as Justic Jamal Khan Mandokhail rescued himself from hearing the case of delayed date of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections, GNN reported.

According to details, the four-member bench was headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, comprising Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

Justice Jamal had issued a dissenting note stating that the order was not written in open court and he was not consulted while writing the order.

His note added that the decision of Justic Qazi Faez Isa should be reviewed in open court.

However CJP Umar said that the bench will be formed again in some time.

Earlier on Thursday, the five-member larger bench of SC got dissolved as Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan excused himself from hearing the case of delay in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtukhwa (KP) elections date.

Justice Amin-ud-Din made the decision clear after Justice Faez Isa case.

Without providing any details, he clearly stated: “I cannot sit on the bench”.

It was expected that the final announcement of elections date will be made in todays’ hearing which was scheduled to commence at 11:30pm today (Friday). The hearing was underway for past three days.

Notably, the decision court made on March 1 was divided with a 3-4 or 2-3 margin. However, the Attorney General is expected to assist the court to give the final verdict.