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Tag: Supreme Court

  • ‘Go Donut go’; Lawyer protest outside Supreme Court has internet laughing

    ‘Go Donut go’; Lawyer protest outside Supreme Court has internet laughing

    A small number of lawyers protested outside the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan yesterday, chanting, “Go donut go,” referring to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

    The slogan “Go donut go” was raised after a month-old video appeared on social media showing CJP Qazi Faez Isa, along with his family, attempting to purchase donuts at Crusteez Donuts in Islamabad Blue Area, where an employee was rude to him while recording the incident.

    Advocate Salman Akram Raja, while addressing the protest, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came out to protest for the rule of law and constitution.

    However, the small numbers and slogans got social media laughing. Here are some funny tweets:

  • President approves Practice and Procedure Amendments Ordinance

    President approves Practice and Procedure Amendments Ordinance

    President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance after the federal cabinet approved the bill.

    According to the ordinance, in the absence of a committee member, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) will be able to nominate a judge as a committee member, The News has reported.

    The ordinance reads, “Each case and appeal will be recorded, and its transcript will be prepared, which will be available to the public, and each case will be heard on its turn; otherwise, reason will be given if the court hears case out of turn.”

    The ordinance also says that court benches will look into cases in light of fundamental human rights and public importance.

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had passed the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 in a bid to ensure transparent proceedings within the apex court and to safeguard the right to appeal.

    However, Supreme Court’s eight member bench, which was chaired by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, stayed the bill due to several petitions challenging it.

  • Govt decides to increase Supreme Court judges to 23

    Govt decides to increase Supreme Court judges to 23

    The federal government has decided to increase the number of Supreme Court judges to 23, which includes the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, Geo News reported.

    The government has submitted the amendment bill of The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1997, to the National Assembly Secretariat today.

    PML-N member Danyal Chaudhary proposed the bill in the National Assembly. The bill stated that the larger number of Supreme Court judges would help ensure timely hearings and decisions despite the backlog of cases.

    According to the proposed bill, expertise is needed in cases related to cybercrime, environmental law, and global trade.

    In February 2024, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan released the Bi-Annual Report of Judicial Statistics from July to December 2023, reporting that pending cases reached a staggering 2.26 million figure.

  • CJ-led SC bench reinstates three PML-N leaders’ NA membership

    CJ-led SC bench reinstates three PML-N leaders’ NA membership

    A three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, restored the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order to recount three Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members constituency results while reinstating them.

    The SC bench declared the Lahore High Court’s decision null and void while hearing the recount petitions of three different polling stations of NA-154, NA-81, and NA-79.

    However, the decision was made with a majority of 2-1, with Justice Aqeel Abbasi issuing a dissenting note.

    The court reinstated the election commission’s decision regarding the recount of votes for three PML-N members: Azhar Qayyum Nahra, Abdul Rehman Kanju, and Zulfiqar Ahmed.

  • CJP offers apology over delay of justice to murder convict

    CJP offers apology over delay of justice to murder convict

    Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa has ordered the immediate release of a man scheduled to be set free six years ago.
    Advocate Ahmad Shuja Butt, the convict’s lawyer, told the appellate bench that Mohammad Akram, a resident of Khanewal who was convicted in 1997 of murder, was still in jail six years after the reconciliation of both parties.

    Justice Isa offered an apology for the Apex Court’s inability to serve justice.
    In its order, the five-member Shariat appellate bench stated that the conclusion took time to reach due to the lack of proper assistance.

  • SCBA asks top court to reconsider allowing Ahmadis worship even within private places

    SCBA asks top court to reconsider allowing Ahmadis worship even within private places

    The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has called on the Supreme Court of Pakistan to reconsider its ruling regarding Ahmadis’ right to worship within their own worship places in the infamous Mubarak Sani case.

    In February 2024 the Supreme Court ruled that Ahmadis, while declared non-Muslims, retain the right to profess and proliferate their religion.

    The SCBA lauded the top court for declaring the minority non-Muslims but asserted that they shouldn’t even be allowed to pray privately as well because it “contradicts Islamic principles, the Quran, and Sunnah.”

    Journalist Hasnaat Malik posted about this development on X, highlighting the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the SCBA and DHA for developing the Park Road Housing Project.

    The majority of social media reactions condemned the stance taken by the bar association.

  • After major relief by SC, trouble for Khan in May 9 case

    After major relief by SC, trouble for Khan in May 9 case

    A day before the Supreme Court granted major relief to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the reserved seats case, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) affirmed the allegations of Imran Khan’s involvement in the May 9 conspiracy against the state in its verdict.

    Senior journalist Ansar Abbasi has stated that while Friday’s SC verdict was a major political victory for PTI and Khan, the verdict by ATC Lahore is a major setback for them.

    Lahore’s anti-terrorism court has become the first judicial forum to uphold that Imran Khan and senior PTI leaders hatched an anti-state conspiracy on May 9.

    Justice Khalid Arshad of the ATC Lahore upheld the prosecution’s view that Khan, in collusion with PTI’s top leadership, was involved in a conspiracy and war against the state on May 9 of last year.

    The court also rejected Khan’s bail application while pointing out that the court was not convinced by founder PTI’s allegation that he was being targeted with politically motivated case.

  • PTI Wins: What does the Supreme Court verdict mean?

    PTI Wins: What does the Supreme Court verdict mean?

    In a significant political and symbolic win for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a thirteen-member bench of the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the party has the legal and constitutional right to reserved seats.

    It was Justice Mansoor Ali Shah who, with his announcement of the 8-5 majority verdict, dismissed the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order that had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling denying reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council, which was backed by PTI.

    Geo News reported that eight Justices, Justices Athar Minallah, Shahid Waheed, Muneeb Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Irfan Saadat Khan supported the verdict.

    The Supreme Court, in its verdict today, declared that a party’s lack of electoral symbol does not affect its legal rights to participate in an election.

    The Supreme Court also stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ‘misinterpreted’ its January 13 verdict of taking away PTI’s bat symbol and they never ruled that PTI could not participate in the elections.

    “PTI was and is a political party, which secured general seats in the national and provincial assemblies in the general elections of 2024,” emphasised the verdict.

    The ruling said that PTI should present a list of eligible candidates for the reserved seats to the electoral body within 15 days after the verdict.

    TIMELINE

    On 13 January 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to revoke PTI’s electoral symbol ‘bat’. PTI leadership called the decision “unfair and damaging to democratic constitutionalism.”

    Following this landmark decision, PTI members contested the general elections as the party-backed independent candidates with their own allotted electoral symbols.

    Following the February 8 elections, PTI-backed independents won the highest number of seats, making history in the country.

    To get the reserved seats according to proportional representation, PTI-backed independents joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) because the laws dictated that only a political party could be eligible for the allocation of reserved seats.

    The SIC then approached the ECP on February 21 seeking allocation of reserved seats. However, the PTI suffered a setback after the electoral body, citing the party’s failure to submit its list of candidates, denied allocating the reserved seats to the SIC via its 4-1 majority verdict on March 4.

    The party then approached the Peshawar High Court on March 6, which, in yet another setback to the party, upheld the electoral body’s decision on the matter in its March 14 ruling.

    Subsequently, on April 2, the SIC moved the SC seeking to set aside the PHC verdict.

  • Khan wins, X goes crazy

    Khan wins, X goes crazy

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) announced a reserved verdict on Friday, declaring that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is eligible to obtain reserved seats. The SC also dismissed the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision to deny the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

    After the court’s decision, people reacted to it on X (formerly Twitter).

    Journalist Gharidah Farooqi posted, “PTI is not present in the parliament, but they have to submit a list of their candidates for reserved seats in the next 15 days as per the court’s orders.”

    PTI’s official account wrote, “Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja must IMMEDIATELY resign after violating the constitution of Pakistan.”

    Several PTI leaders also expressed their support for the court’s decision on reserved seats.

    Prominent party leader, Zulfi Bukhari posted, “Congratulations to the entire nation for the massive win in the revered seats case. Not only did PTI win 8-5 in the Supreme Court but 11 judges declared PTI a political party and allowed it to contest elections. More than us, this case was for the survival of the Supreme Court and hope of justice in the country.”

    Journalist Shehzad Iqbal said while speaking on Geo News that the court’s decision benefits PTI but is not good news for the coalition government.

    The famous journalist Asad Toor wrote in a post on X, “No extra seats for government.”

    On the other hand, users on X posted memes about today’s verdict.

    One user posted an image with the caption, “Itni Jaldi Mithai Nahi Khani Chahye.”

    PTI leader Dr Shahbaz Gill posted the picture of journalist Hassan Ayub with the caption, “Aida ki Karna hai?”

  • Salaried class fights back: Petition filed against high taxes in Supreme Court

    Salaried class fights back: Petition filed against high taxes in Supreme Court

    After the National Assembly approved the controversial economic budget for the next fiscal year last week, a group called the Salaried Class Alliance of Pakistan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, citing discrimination in taxation against salaried classes in the recent budget.

    “This budget marks the third consecutive year in which the burden of taxation has disproportionately fallen upon the salaried class, neglecting broader efforts to expand the tax base in the country,” read the petition.

    The alliance raised key issues such as an unbalanced tax burden, neglect of tax base expansion, impact on economic growth and brain drain, and disparities in taxation.

    It urged the Supreme Court, “Under Article 184(3) of the constitution of Pakistan to uphold justice and protect the rights of salaried class and all taxpayers in Pakistan.”