ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday issued a notice to the federal government in the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance case and adjourned further hearing for an indefinite period.
A five-member larger FCC bench, headed by Justice Aamer Farooq, heard the appeal filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan against the Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024.
Sameer Khosa, counsel for the PTI chairman, submitted before the court that the original petition had been decided through an initial ruling by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court. He further submitted that since the FCC has also adopted the Supreme Court’s rules and under those rules, a five-member bench cannot hear an appeal against the decision of a seven-member bench.
However, Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman said that the FCC decision could apply to the Supreme Court under Article 189 of the Constitution, adding, this court has a separate status, therefore, the number of its judges—whether more or fewer—does not make a difference. He further submitted that the FCC itself will determine how many judges will hear the appeal.
Sameer Khosa, however, contended that the appeal under consideration was filed under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, and that under the same law only a larger bench has the authority to hear it.
Justice Farooq remarked that this matter could be considered later, and at least with respect to issuing notices to the parties, no legal issue appears to exist.
Meanwhile, after a detailed discussion on the composition of the bench and the nature of the appeal, the court issued a notice to the federal government and adjourned further proceedings.
