Justice Shah, Munib Demand Full-Court Hearing Of 26th Amendment

Web Desk—Two senior Supreme Court justices, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, wrote a letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi demanding a full court bench for the hearing of petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment. They requested the hearing take place this week.

In their joint letter, the two justices have written about their efforts to convene a committee meeting on October 31 to discuss the matter. Following the Chief Justice’s failure to convene the meeting, Justice Shah and Justice Akhtar, acting under Section 2, called the meeting themselves. The committee subsequently decided to hear the case before a full court bench on November 4.

The letter states that despite this decision, no cause list was issued, though implementation of the committee’s decision was mandatory. They deeply regretted that the full court hearing had not been scheduled, reiterating that the committee’s decision remains in effect and must be acted upon.

The letter also instructed the Registrar to publish the meeting minutes of October 31 on the SC website.

Lawyers, including a former SC Bar president, have challenged the 26th Constitutional Amendment, arguing that the amendment violates fundamental rights and the basic structure of the constitution, claiming that votes were coerced by parliamentarians, and questioning the legitimacy of the parliament itself.