ISLAMABAD - Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday issued an additional note in a case regarding the right of access to information and stated that he agreed with the decision of Justice Qazi Faez Isa that there is no need of application to provide information to the citizens.
The additional note which has been issued in Urdu said that it is true that the exercise of the fundamental right under Article 19A is subject to reasonable restrictions. The term of reasonable restrictions never empowers the Parliament to limit the scope of the constitutional right.
Justice Athar Minallah said that Article 8 prevents from legislation that abrogates or restricts fundamental rights. The Supreme Court judicially reviews the actions of other institutions in the context of fundamental rights. It is unthinkable that the Supreme Court should take away the fundamental rights of citizens.
It said that if the public trust is lost, the independence of the judiciary will be weakened. The power of the Supreme Court is only the trust of the people.
Justice Athar Minullah said that right of access to information is a fortress against corruption. He said judges, employees’ privileges, budget of the Supreme Court are matters of public importance and interest and citizens don’t need to file an application to provide information.
‘Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee’
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi on Wednesday appointed Supreme Court senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as the chairman of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee.
Reportedly, the notification was issued by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan. Justices Ayesha Malik and Shahid Waheed will be the other two members.
The meeting, presided over by CJP Yahya Afridi, reviewed a one-month case management plan under the one devised by Justice Shah, which establishes clear standards and integrates information technology to effectively manage all categories of cases.
Convened by the CJP, the meeting was attended by all SC judges, including Justice Shah, who joined via video link from abroad.
The focus was to evaluate the Supreme Court’s performance in institution and disposal of cases, with an emphasis on reducing case backlog and improving judicial efficiency. Registrar Jazeela Aslam provided a comprehensive overview of the current caseload and outlined steps for timely case resolution.
The registrar presented updated statistics, showing that 59,191 cases were pending, and introduced the newly devised one-month plan based on the Case Management Plan 2023 prepared by Justice Shah. The plan includes setting clear standards and employing information technology to streamline case management across different categories.
Justice Shah proposed further strategies aimed at reducing the case backlog and enhancing procedural efficiency, initially through the one-month plan, followed by three-month and six-month plans.
Since assuming office, CJP Afridi has constituted a new three-judge committee under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act (SCPPA) 2023, comprising Justice Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.
The constitution of the three-judge committee, as done by the new CJP, is being seen as a significant move as it was this issue which led to the acrimony between the Supreme Court judges and former CJP Qazi Faez Isa.
Court seeks NAB’s comments in toshakhana vehicles’ case
An Accountability Court (AC) on Wednesday granted time to NAB for submission of comment on jurisdiction in Toshakhana vehicles’ reference against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and others.
Accountability Court Judge Abida Sajjad heard the case in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari were nominated by the bureau.
Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer Rana Irfan adopted the stance that after the NAB amendments this case didn’t fall in jurisdiction of this court. He prayed the court to return the reference back to the NAB.
The NAB prosecutor on the occasion prayed the court to grant time for submission of comments at this the hearing was adjourned till November 7.