A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan has determined the jurisdiction on suo moto notices and decided only the Chief Justice of Pakistan has the authority to take a suo moto action, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The top court’s five-member bench headed by the acting Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandial has withdrawn the suo moto notice taken up by Justice Isa determining that only the CJP himself can take cognizance of the matter using the Constitutional prerogative.

Hearing the proceedings on journalist harassment case taken up by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the bench gave a short verdict while the detailed verdict will be issued later.

While reading the verdict, Justice Bandial said a judge or a bench can only recommend the suo moto notice to the CJP.

The five-member Supreme Court bench headed by the acting Chief Justice of Pakistan was set up to determine the grounds and authority of the suo moto cases in the backdrop of Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s cognizance of journalists’ harassment matter.

The larger bench has thus directed the press association to submit its plea before the chief justice and only after his approval it can proceed.

Reporter: Amanat Gishkori