Non-scheduling of benches powers: Justice Mansoor declares as contempt of court

Islamabad: On the issue of non-scheduling of the bench powers case, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Aqeel Abbasi of Supreme Court wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, in which Justice Mansoor also termed the matter as ‘contempt of court’.

According to media reports, a letter has also been written to Justice Aminuddin Khan on behalf of the three judges, in which the case related to bench powers was mentioned.

The letter said that Justice Aqeel Abbasi was added to the bench on January 16, who has also heard the case in the Sindh High Court (SHC). The letter complained about not being scheduled for hearing the case on January 20.

According to the letter, the Practice and Procedure Committee meeting on January 17 was mentioned. Justice Mansoor informed the committee that his point of view is on record.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah refused to attend the committee meeting and followed the order.

The judge said that he did not need to appear before the committee because the committee could have formed the previous bench and fixed the hearing on January 20.

He stated in the letter that not fixing the case is tantamount to disobeying the judicial order. The judge also termed the matter as contempt of court.