Hearing on SC Practice and Procedure Act live broadcast today

Islamabad: The hearing on nine petitions filed related to the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 will be held today (Tuesday) at 9:30am, for which government TV cameras have been installed in the court room for live coverage.

After assuming office, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa scheduled the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act for hearing before the full court and for the first time in the history of Supreme Court, the hearing was telecasted live.

Before hearing the petitions related to the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, the parties have submitted written responses to the Supreme Court. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has requested to declare the act null and void in its written responses.

It said that the Practice and Procedure Act is against the independence of the judiciary. In the presence of the Supreme Court Rules 1980, the Parliament cannot legislate on the Supreme Court.

The Attorney General, in his reply based on the questions of the judges, said: “The suspension of the law by the eight-member bench was unconstitutional,” adding that the independence of the judiciary has been ensured by the Practice and Procedure Act, transparency in judicial matters and benches by the Act. A statute cannot be struck down on the basis of a presumption that the formulation would improve.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) have requested to dismiss the petitions against the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act.

The lawyers of the petitioners, Khawaja Tariq Rahim and Imtiaz Siddiqui, have accepted the petitions and requested to declare the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act null and void.