Justice Faez Isa case: 10-member SC bench to hear review petitions

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed has constituted a 10-member larger bench for hearing identical review petitions challenging the Supreme Court’s order of June 19, 2020 to the extent of direction given to the FBR after the full court squashed the presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

The 10-member larger bench — headed by Justice Umer Ata Bandial — will hear the review petitions on March 1 filed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa and bar association seeking reconstitution of bench comprising the three judges, who had written dissenting notes in the presidential reference filed against Justice Isa.

The other members of the bench are Justice Maqbool Baqir, Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Amin Uddin Khan.

A six-member larger bench — headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin — had the other day announced the reserved judgment and referred the matter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan for constitution of the bench.

The court held that it was a prerogative of CJP to determine the composition of bench and hence referred to him the matter. ”As a matter of law and settled practice, it is for the HCJ as the master of the roster, to determine the composition of a Bench and he may, for like reason, constitute a larger Bench for hearing the review petition”, the court had announced in a short order.