A Supreme Court judge has recused himself from the constitutional bench hearing review petitions in the reserved seats case following an objection raised by senior advocate Hamid Khan on Friday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Justice Salahuddin Panhwar declined to hear the case, saying he wanted to read his brief verdict.
An 11-judge bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan resumed the hearing today, when Justice Panhwar noted that Hamid Khan, counsel for the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), had yesterday raised an objection to the bench.
Justice Panhwar said “Hamid Khan raised an objection to the inclusion of judges in the bench who came to the Supreme Court after the 26th Amendment in the bench. Judges were accused of impartiality.” The judge noted that he is one of the judges included in the objection.
“Public trust in the judiciary is essential,” Panhwar stated. “It is essential that no party has any objection to the bench,” he said and added “It is because of these objections that I cannot sit on this bench.”
Justice Panhwar told Hamid Khan that although he was hurt by his remarks — having worked together since 2010 — this was not a personal matter.
In response, Hamid Khan said “I welcome your decision.”
A visible annoyed Justice Aminuddun remarked this was not a matter to welcome as they were also hearing another SIC lawyer in the case.
Addressing Hamid Khan, Justice Jamal Mandokhel said “This is all happening because of your conduct, though you did not deserve to be giving arguments in the case.”
Hamid Khan insisted he reserved to right to give arguments in the case.
Later, Hamid Khan again raised objection against the 10-judge judicial bench, saying 10-member bench cannot take up the case. He argued that a 12-member bench cannot review a verdict given by a 13-judge bench.
The bench rejected Hamid Khan’s objection with Justice Mandokhel saying they will hear all the 12 pleas.
Case history
In its July 12, 2024 decision, eight out of 13 judges ruled that 39 out of a list of 80 MNAs were and are the returned candidates of the PTI, setting it to emerge as the single largest party in the National Assembly.
However, the ruling had not been implemented by the National Assembly, while the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had raised some objections.
The PML-N, the PPP and the ECP had filed the review petitions against the Supreme Court’s order.
Reporter Amanat Gishkori