Apex Court upholds the parliament's act clipping CJP powers.

ISLAMABAD -- Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 with a majority vote of 10 to 5. In a short order announced by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, majority judges decided against the provision of law wherein right of appeal was given retrospectively. So no appeal can be filed against Panama judgement.

The judgement is a big relief to former CJPs and their like-minded judges whose jurisprudence was under threat on account of extending the right of appeal to grievance persons from past under this law.

"By a majority of 10 to 5 (Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Shahid Waheed dissenting) the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 is sustained as being in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and to this extent the petitions are dismissed," the apex court's short order stated.

"By a majority of 9 to 6 (Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Shahid Waheed dissenting) sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Act (granting a right of appeal prospectively) is declared to be in accordance with the Constitution and to this extent the petitions are dismissed," it ruled.

"By a majority of 8 to 7 (Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Musarrat Hilali dissenting) sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Act (granting a right of appeal retrospectively) is declared to be ultra vires the Constitution and to this extent the petitions are allowed." Earlier, CJP Isa remarked that institutions should not be pitted against one another as the apex court concluded proceedings on a set of petitions...