Cold war costs Justice Mansoor KSA trip

Express Tribune

26-02-2025

A cold war in the highest judiciary seems to have further deepened as Senior Puisne Judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah could not fly to Saudi Arabia for attending two events at the arbitration for want of ex- Pakistan leave.
It is learnt that Justice Shah was invited to deliver key notes at two events at the Arbitration week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia organised by the Al Baraka Forum and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation- Arbitration Center (OIC-AC).
During the week, Justice Shah also wanted to perform Umrah before the start of the holy month of Ramazan.
The senior puisne judge had made a request to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi for ex-Pakistan leave well in time, which remained unanswered, compelling Justice Mansoor to cancel his trip to Saudi Arabia as his leaves could not be sanctioned.
It is to be noted that Justice Shah was the only Supreme Court judge from a Muslim country invited to the event sponsored by the Saudis in 'Arbitration Week' in Riyadh which is a high profile event.
Lawyers believe that Arbitration is most significant for Pakistan, and Justice Shah's presence in Riyadh would have helped build cooperation amongst the judiciaries of the Muslim countries. This could have led to developing a joint arbitration centre for Muslim countries and an international arbitration centre in Pakistan.
They are also wondering as why the minutes of committee working under Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 are not being shared on SC website. The practice was stopped since the incumbent CJP assumed his office.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah is also member of three members committee. Earlier, four justices, who opposed the elevation of high court judges to the apex court, have been removed from key administrative committees under CJP Yahya Afridi's restructuring plan.
CJP Afridi reconstituted several committees, replacing senior justices with junior ones. Those excluded from critical roles included Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi.
Had CJP Afridi constituted a full court to hear petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the situation might have been differently, said the legal experts.
Two judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, who formed the majority in the relevant committee, had ordered the constitution of a full court to hear the petitions in the first week of November. However, instead of listing the case, CJP Afridi convened a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to select judges for the constitutional bench. The constitutional bench has yet to decide petitions against 26th constitutional amendment.
Subsequently, a three-judge bench led by Justice Shah had raised question if the regular bench could be barred to adjudicate the matters related to the interpretation of law and Constitution after 26th Constitutional Amendment. However the case was withdrawn from that regular bench by the committees.
A division bench of the apex court led by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah held that the members of both committees violated the judicial order and withdrew the case from regular bench. The bench remarked that committees' members have committed the contempt; therefore, the full court should be constituted to initiate the proceedings.
However, the members of constitutional bench were visibly upset and they set aside the regular bench's judicial orders. Recently, the federal government also filed intra court appeals against regular bench orders in contempt matter.
It is being witnessed that dissenting judges faced always tough times since ex-CJP Saqib Nisar's tenure.
Lawyers believe that if the clash among senior SC judges continues, the superior judiciary will be further weakened and the situation will be favourable for the beneficiaries of 26th Constitutional Amendment.