ISLAMABAD : April 10,2023: The Shahbaz Sharif led coalition government on Monday managed to get majority vote for its high stake bill titled Judicial Reforms and Procedure Bill 2023 in a hurriedly called joint sitting of the parliament.
Law minister , Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the bill in the joint session of the parliament. During the vote , Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) senators staged strong protest , but they could not block the bill as Imran Khan’s party has no number game in its favour due to resignation of its members from the lower house.
The Judicial Reforms and Procedure Bill 2023 makes important changes in the powers previously conferred on the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP). After coming of the bill into a law , CJP will lose his powers to take suo moto in any case under article 184(3) of the constitution . He will also have no powers to constitute a bench at his owns. After the new law , a panel of three top judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) will have the powers to take suo moto in any case and to constitute a bench to hear any case by the apex court.
The National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan had passed the bill in discussion some two weeks ago which was later referred to the president for his accent. The president of Pakistan, however, had declined to sign the bill and sent it back to the parliament calling it as an intrusion in the authority of SCP.
PTI had resigned from the National Assembly some times ago in a bid to build up pressure on Shahbaz led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government to call the new elections in the country.
Resignations of PTI members from the lower house of the parliament has made it easy for incumbent ‘sarkar’ to go for law making of its choice without any considerable resistance.
Addressing the joint sitting of the parliament, Law minister , Azam Nazeer Tarar , deplored that the president declined to sign the crucial bill for reforms in the top judiciary of Pakistan . He said the bill was badly needed to put to an end to an impression of one man show at SCP. He reminded to the president that the parliament had absolute authority to make any law which it deemed was necessary for correction in the system . He said the new amendment in the SCP Reforms and Procedure Bill 2O23 will add transparency in the working of top court of Pakistan .
Senator Farooq H Niak , also spoke on the issue during the joint session . He said bars were demanding reforms in top judiciary . He called the president of Pakistan ‘s act of declining to sign the bill in debate as unfortunate.
Basically , the government introduced the bill to tame CJP , Umar Atta Bandial, who was in its views misusing his authority to take suo moto in those case which favoured a particular political party . Incumbent CJP was also under question for constitution of benches more than one time in the case of delay in holding elections in the Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhaw (KPK).
