Islamabad: Justice Ijaz-ul-Hasan, a member of the three-member committee established under the Practice and Procedure Law, has raised objections to the formation of benches, expressing his concerns in a letter to the Supreme Court Registrar.
Justice Ijaz-ul-Hasan, in the letter addressed to the Supreme Court Registrar, highlighted objections regarding the formation of benches for the trial of military courts and Justice Mazhar Naqvi. He stated that on December 7th, at 4 pm, a meeting was held at the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s office. The agenda for the meeting was provided to me after multiple contacts. The committee decided in the meeting that the Military Courts Inter Court Appeals would be heard by a seven-member bench. I had suggested forming a bench, comprising senior judges, to dispel the influence of Pak and Choz. Chief Justice Pakistan had agreed to my proposal, saying that if a judge is not available, then another senior judge will be added later.
He mentioned that he was not informed about the minutes of the committee meeting, and the bench formed for the hearing under Article 184, Section 3, does not consist of senior judges. The minutes of the committee meeting were not uploaded to the website without my approval, and my note should also be uploaded to the website.
The letter further stated that instead of reaching an agreement on a seven-member bench in the committee meeting, a six-member bench was formed. He said that regarding not being included in the senior judges’ bench, he is in complete darkness. The principles of integrity and transparency were agreed upon, and it was also agreed that after the relevant judges take a stance, committee members will be informed.
On Friday, it was informed after the second call that the file had been sent for approval to the Chief Justice’s chamber. Despite waiting, a call at 6:30 revealed that the Registrar had left. The minutes of the fourth and fifth committee meetings were neither sent nor signed; these minutes were released on the Supreme Court website without my approval.
