ISLAMABAD:- The Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned the Attorney General in a contempt of court case related to non-scheduling of the bench powers case. A two-member bench, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and also having Justice Aqeel Abbasi, conducted the hearing. The Supreme Court registrar appeared before the court.
As the proceedings began, the court inquired from the registrar why the case had not been scheduled despite clear judicial orders. The registrar replied that the case was intended for a constitutional bench but mistakenly assigned to a regular bench.
Justice Aqeel Abbasi remarked, “If this was a mistake, it must have been going on for some time. How was it realised now?” He added, “The only mistake might have been including me in this bench since I had already heard this case in the high court. I am not sure whether including me was a mistake or something else.” Justice Mansoor Ali Shah questioned how the Practice and Procedure Committee convened a meeting on this matter, asking whether the committee initiated the meeting on its own or upon a request.
The registrar responded that a note was sent to the committee, prompting Justice Mansoor to ask why the note was written when a judicial order was already in place. He demanded to see the note sent to the committee.
Upon reviewing the note, the court found inconsistencies with the registrar’s earlier position.
Justice Mansoor remarked, “This note does not mention any acknowledgment of the mistake. Instead, it refers to an order issued on Jan 16, suggesting the creation of a new bench based on that order. However, our order had already specified which bench was to hear the case.”