Show cause notice to Additional Registrar for non-scheduling of bench powers case

Islamabad: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah issued a show cause notice to Additional Registrar Supreme Court Nazar Abbas and summoned him in person on the issue of non-scheduling of the case of the powers of the benches in the Supreme Court.

A hearing was held in the Supreme Court on the issue of the powers of constitutional benches and regular benches. Barrister Salahuddin, the party in the case, appeared before a three-member bench headed by Justice Mansoor.

Lawyer Barrister Salahuddin told the court that he had come from Karachi only for this case, but the cause list was not issued, the court had ordered the case to be scheduled for today.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said in his remarks that they were not told anything in this regard. The Additional Registrar should be called immediately to find out why the case was not scheduled.

During the hearing, Deputy Registrar Zulfiqar Ahmed appeared in the court and said that the Additional Registrar was not well and was on leave, to which Justice Mansoor inquired why the case he ordered to be scheduled was not taken up.

Deputy Registrar Zulfiqar replied that the judges' committee decided that the case related to the amendment would be heard in the constitutional bench on January 27. Justice Shah remarked: ‘I am a member of the committee, but I have no knowledge’.

Justice Ayesha Malik inquired how the administrative committee ignored the judicial order. Justice Aqeel Abbasi inquired from the Deputy Registrar whether the court order was placed before the committee.

Deputy Registrar Zulfiqar Ahmed replied that the court order was presented to the committee, to which Justice Ayesha Malik inquired why our cause list for the entire week was changed. We had scheduled tax cases, which were changed.

The court, seeking details of the order passed by the judges' committee and the meeting minutes, remarked that if there is any written instruction regarding why the cause list was changed, then present it too.

The Deputy Registrar replied that no written order was received from the Judges Committee. Justice Mansoor inquired that if the committee’s order was not received, then why was the case not scheduled? Justice Ayesha inquired how the scheduled case be transferred to the constitutional bench.

Justice Aqeel Abbasi said in his remarks that no one, including the Chief Justice, has the authority to transfer the case. When he was in the Sindh High Court (SHC), such an attempt was made against us there too, the Chief Justice of the SHC was forced to schedule the case before us.

Justice Ayesha Malik inquired from the Deputy Registrar that all the cases were scheduled under the court order, why have other cases been delisted? The Deputy Registrar replied that the research officer’s note is that cases based on legal questions will be heard by the constitutional bench.

Justice Ayesha inquired if the research officer now reviews the court orders to see if they are correct or not. It has never happened in her judicial career that a case has disappeared like this.

Justice Aqeel stated in his remarks that everyone, including the Chief Justice, is bound by the court order, to which the Deputy Registrar replied that the meeting minutes of the Judges Committee have not been received yet.

The Supreme Court issued a show cause notice to the Additional Registrar Supreme Court on the issue of non-scheduling of the case related to the powers of the benches, asking in the order to explain why the case was not scheduled for hearing today.

Later, the Supreme Court summoned the Additional Registrar in person and adjourned the further hearing of the case till tomorrow.