The recently established constitutional bench will begin hearing cases on November 14 and 15 based on a first in and first out, the Supreme Court of Pakistan announced on Tuesday.
Earlier, the appellate court formed a three-judge committee to fix cases, issue court rosters, form benches, and decide weekly caseload for its recently established constitutional bench.
Justice Aminud Din Khan, the head of the constitutional bench, chaired the committee on Tuesday which was attended by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar telephonically from Karachi.
According to a press release issued by the SC, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss matters for the formation of the constitutional bench.
The court’s registrar’s office briefed the committee members about the pending constitutional cases. The committee resolved that priority would be accorded to the oldest cases.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), in its first session on November 5, had picked Justice Amin as head of the constitutional bench by a seven-to-five majority.
A seven-member constitutional bench comprised Justices Aminud Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi reconstituted the JCP.
Per the SC’s release, Justice Ayesha Malik will not be available on Nov 14 and 15 and a bench comprising all available Judges will be constituted to proceed with cases on these dates.
Muhammad Salim Khan, the Registrar at SC, released the court roster of a six-member constitutional bench which will begin hearing cases at 9:30am on Nov 14.
The bench will include Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
The SC directed the Registrar to schedule cases for hearing before the bench. The committee will meet again at 12:30pm on Nov 13.