Split emerges in Supreme Court.

ISLAMABAD -- A two-member bench of the SuApreme Court of Pakistan Monday emAphasised on regulating the exercise of court's jurisdiction under Article 184(3) including the exercise of suo motu jurisdiction; the constitution of Benches to hear such cases; the conAstitution of Regular Benches to hear all the other cases instituted in this Court; and the constitution of Special Benches.

It maintained that this court canAnot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the Chief JusAtice, but must be regulated through a rule-based system approved by all Judges of the Court under Article 191 of the Constitution, in regulating the exercise of its jurisdiction under ArAticle 184(3).

It was stated in the joint judgeAment of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail who also held that the judgement of the Single Bench of the Lahore High Court would remain binding on the ECP and the Governor of Punjab.

The bench maintained that powAer of doing a 'one-man show' is not only anachronistic, outdated and obAsolete but also is antithetical to good governance and incompatible to modern democratic norms.

'One-man show leads to the conAcentration of power in the hands of one individual, making the system more susceptible to the abuse of power,' it added.

It further said, 'In contrast, a collegial system with checks and balances helps prevent the abuse and mistakes in the exerAcise of power and promote the transparency and accountabilAity. When one person has too much power, there is a risk that the institution may become auAtocratic and insulated, resultAing in one-man policies being pursued, which may have a tenAdency of going against the rights and interests of the people.'

The two judge maintained that the principle of provincial autonomy requires that when a matter which relates only to a Province, and not to the FederaAtion or to more than one ProvAinces, the High Court of that Province should ordinarily be allowed to exercise its constiAtutional jurisdiction to decide upon that matter, and this Court should not normally interfere with and exercise its jurisdicAtion in such a matter under ArAticle 184(3) of the Constitution, which jurisdiction is primarily federal in character.

In a 27-page joint judgement issued on Monday stated that the suo motu case regarding the Punjab and KP elections date announcement was dismissed by a majority of four judges out of seven. In the light of the above principles enunciated in Manzoor Elahi and...