ISLAMABAD – Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Saturday wrote a letter to the Judges’ Committee regarding the contempt of court case against the additional registrar, and expressed objections over the Intra-Court Appeal (ICA) bench composition.
Justice Mansoor raised concerns over the inclusion of Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar in the ICA bench and formally conveyed his objections to the Judges’ Committee.
In his letter, Justice Mansoor Shah stated that on November 23, a Judicial Commission meeting was held, after which the Chief Justice convened an informal committee meeting in his chamber.
During the meeting, it was suggested that a five-member bench, based on seniority, should hear the intra-court appeal. Justice Mansoor further said that he had proposed excluding judges who were also committee members from the bench.
However, the Chief Justice preferred forming a four-member bench. Later, at 9:33pm, his secretary sent a WhatsApp message asking for approval of a six-member bench, to which Justice Mansoor expressed his objection and said he would respond in the morning.
The letter also mentioned that at 10:28pm, the secretary informed him that a six-member bench had already been formed and the roster had been issued.
Justice Mansoor objected to two members on the bench, saying that the decision to reclaim the authority over bench formations was made by both committees, and the questions had already been raised regarding the judges involved in the committees.
“The committee members cannot judge their own decisions. My objections should be made part of the official record,”. Justice Shah added.
