Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said on Tuesday that political parties wanted to “pick and choose” the Supreme Court bench for “desired judgments”, adding that an independent judiciary is a main component of the Constitution.
He made the remarks as an eight-member larger bench of the Supreme Court heard a set of plea challenging a bill, which has since become an act of Parliament, seeking to curtail the powers of the CJP.
“A demand for constituting a full court had also been put forth during the hearing of the case concerning holding elections in the country,” he said.
Democracy is a key component of Pakistan’s constitution, he added.
“A free judiciary and government are important features of the Constitution,” he said.
“Political people want favorable decisions, not justice,” he said. He noted that a demand for constituting a full court had also been put forth during the hearing of the case concerning holding elections in the country.
He observed that all the country’s institutions were bound to implement the directives issued by the top court. The PBC’s request for a full court was subsequently rejected.
Bandial remarked that the law in question was the first of its kind in Pakistan. “This law concerns the third pillar of the state,” he said.
He also highlighted that several references had been filed against one of the members of the current SC bench in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and called for Justice Ali Akber Naqvi to be excluded from the bench.
Justice Bandial remarked that constituting a full court was the CJP’s prerogative. He went on to say that a reference could not bar a judge from working.
