Supreme Court senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Saturday stressed that there could be no possibility of the top court’s orders going unimplemented as such a scenario would amount to a constitutional violation and the executive had no choice but to comply with court orders.
The remarks came a day after he similarly emphasised that the apex court’s orders were not merely recommendations or advisories, but legal mandates which must be followed.
Addressing a conference regarding minority rights, Justice Shah said: “It is not possible that a Supreme Court judgement is left unimplemented … let us make this clear that this can never happen that a Supreme Court judgement is not implemented. This cannot happen. It would be a constitutional violation if this was [even] thought about.
“Executive institutions have to recognise that they have no choice but to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court. I’m not saying this but the Constitution it [since this] is its structure and the Supreme Court draws this authority from the Constitution, not any other document.”
He said no one had the “choice to say ‘this is not right or [it is] wrong’”. Justice Shah said the Constitution enshrined that there were judgements of a court and they should be implemented.
“This is the way. Either change the structure and make something else but the Constitution as it is and its structure, according to them the position is this.
“Any verdict cannot be disregarded or delayed otherwise you will uproot the entire legal system and you will upset the balance of the Constitution if you set out on this track that judgements should not be implemented. This is not possible.”
He also said that such an action would be against the separation of powers of state organs and also disbalance it. “Separation of powers is a core component of democracy and it should not be disturbed.”
Justice Shah said that to implement court orders was not a “courtesy” or a “burden” but was a “responsibility and constitutional obligation that you have to follow”.
He pointed out that there was a “delicate equilibrium” in the Constitution between state organs which should be respected.
“It is our obligation to maintain this balance and there should be no executive overreach of any kind. No one has the choice or prerogative to second guess a judgement if it is right or wrong. The prerogative is of the Supreme Court and once it makes an order, it has to be implemented. That is the system of this country and the Constituion of this country. If you want to make a new system then first do so and then we will talk about it. “It is completely clear that [implementing court verdicts] is a constitutional duty and it has severe consequences if you don’t implement.”
