By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has clarified that following the 26th Constitutional Amendment, a smaller bench is permitted to hear review petitions—even if the original decision was issued by a larger bench.
This clarification came during the hearing of review appeals related to the earlier verdict by a 13-member bench on reserved seats, where Justice Aminuddin Khan, head of the current constitutional bench, stated that two judges had declined to sit on the review due to their prior rulings and recused themselves voluntarily. Consequently, an 11-member bench was formed.
During the proceedings, Sunni Ittehad Council’s counsel, Faisal Siddiqi, argued that a review must be heard by a bench of equal strength to the original one. In response, Justice Musarrat Hilali questioned why he was insisting on including the two judges who had already opted out and not issued notices.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar added that since the two judges had already issued decisions, there was no value in having them rejoin the bench. Siddiqi contended that the court must determine the proper jurisdiction and composition for review hearings and that a consistent standard should be established.
