The newly-formed constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday sent two cases back to the regular bench after raising questions regarding their constitutional merit.

The seven-member bench, headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, reviewed the case of Saeed Khosa, which had been filed under the Ministry of Petroleum. During the proceedings, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar commented that only cases with clear constitutional relevance should be directed to the constitutional bench. He emphasized that matters outside its jurisdiction should be handled by the regular bench.

It is important to note that this case had initially been referred to the constitutional bench by a three-member bench, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, on October 23.

Additionally, a case involving a housing society was also sent back to the regular bench for further consideration, as it did not meet the constitutional criteria required for the constitutional bench’s review.

The decision to return both cases signals the bench's careful scrutiny of which matters should fall under its jurisdiction, ensuring that only those with significant constitutional questions are addressed by the larger, specialized bench.