Senate bill seeks to increase number of SC judges to 21

A bill seeking an amendment to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1997, was tabled in the Senate on Monday, to increase the number of top court judges to 20 sans the chief justice in order to clear the backlog of cases.

The bill titled "Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Act", 2024, was presented by an independent senator from Balochistan, Mohammad Abdul Qadir.

He sought the increase in the number of top court judges from 17 to 21 as "more than 53,000 cases" pending in the apex court.

According to the bill, a copy of which is available with Geo News, the number of judges of the top court other than the chief justice shall be 20.

It further stated: "The Supreme Court has four jurisdictions original, appellate, advisory, and review being diverse and demanding, contributing to the continuous accumulation of cases."

"With economic growth and social changes, the complexity and variety of cases have increase," it pointed out.

It stressed: "This backlog, combined with the complexities of integrating the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, necessitates more judicial resources."

Speaking on the floor of the upper house, Senator Abdul Qadir called for appointing "at least 16 judges" to the top court, saying that several constitutional matters were being referred to the top court.

"Larger benches are formed and these judges look into the constitutional matters," he added.

Not only constitutional cases, but several cases related to financial matters worth billions were also pending in the top court as it does not have time to hear these cases, the senator claimed.

"Our judicial system is lowest on the [global] ranking," he added.

However, the opposition senators opposed the new legislation.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar also backed the legislation and suggested forwarding the new bill to the relevant committee.

Tarar, while addressing the Senate session, endorsed the points raised by Senator Qadir, saying several cases pertaining to capital punishments still awaiting verdicts since 2015. "A person spent 34 years in jail due to a pending appeal before the top court," he added.

Tarar further said that the architects of the Constitution of Pakistan have not fixed a specific number of judges and gave parliament power to determine the judicial strength.

It is noteworthy to mention here that in a bid to reduce pendency of the cases, two retired judges — Justice (retd) Tariq Masood and Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel — had been appointed as ad hoc judges to the apex court for a period of one year in July.

The appointment of the retired jurists was recommended by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) two months ago which was later approved by President Asif Ali Zardari under Article 182 of the Constitution.

'Attempt to impose martial law'

In his remarks on the amendment, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Syed Ali Zafar said that the law was “suddenly tabled” in the the upper house to increase the number of jurists.

He termed the amendments "an attempt to impose a judicial martial law" by bringing seven new judges. Zafar added that his party was ready to approve the appointment of two more judges.

The senator suggested the government to start increasing the judicial strength from subordinate courts instead of the Supreme Court.

He also alleged that Senator Qadir "is being used" for the new legislation which he said apparently going in favour of the coalition government.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told journalists earlier today that the party has decided to oppose any amendment bill regarding the judiciary and all their members of parliament have been officially notified about it.

"None of our MNA or senator will vote in the favour of the proposed amendments. Every MNA has been individually instructed in this regard in the light of Article 63 of the Constitution," Gohar said.

Responding to the PTI’s opposition to the bill, Tarar in today's session said the former ruling party is worried over the proposed amendment as the bill would seize something, asking the opposition party to give logical reasons behind its apprehensions.

"The Peshawar High Court (PHC) had sought an increase of 10 judges. The PTI is the ruling party there but we are still making the required appointments," he added.

'Special court for constitutional amendments'

Taking part in the debate over the new legislation in the upper house of the parliament, Senator Aimal Wali Khan, the president of the Awami National Party (ANP), admitted that a judge cannot hear dozens of cases in a day.

Expressing his concerns, Aimal questioned why the government is cherished over the opposition’s bill amid media reports questioning the requirements of additional judges. He was referring to the tabling of the said amendment by an independent senator instead of a government legislator.

He also questioned the law minister regarding his pledge to introduce a bill on comprehensive legal reforms. He was of the view that the amendments related to increasing the number of judges could be included in the promised bill.

The ANP president recommended the constitution of a separate court for constitutional amendments.

Responding to Aimal's query, the law minister said that the federal government will introduce detailed reforms for subordinate courts in the coming days.

Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani referred the bill to the relevant body of the upper house.

The coalition government ruled by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has been facing criticism from the opposition parties for planning to introduce judiciary-centric legislation in the parliament.

The Imran-founded party alleged that the recommended legislation could include the extension of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and changes in law regarding the appointments of SC judges based on the principle of seniority.

However, the Centre has time and again denied these reports, saying that nothing as such was on the cards as CJP Isa has "no interest" in getting an extension.

Refuting speculations on the seniority-based law for CJP’s appointment, Law Minister Tarar had said that the only criterion to be followed for the appointment of a new top judge is "seniority".