Overview
- The FCC has listed a six-judge bench led by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan to take up the IHC judges’ intra-court appeal on November 24 at 11:30am.
- The five IHC judges filed a miscellaneous application asking the FCC to return their appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing it was brought under Section 5 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 rather than Articles 175E or 175F.
- The application contends a court created by the 27th Amendment cannot adjudicate the amendment’s validity and frames the transfer of their appeal as inconsistent with judicial independence and separation of powers.
- The appeal follows a June 19 Supreme Court majority ruling that upheld the February transfers of three judges to the IHC, a move that reshaped the court’s seniority list and spurred the challenge.
- The FCC has also constituted a five-member larger bench led by Justice Aamer Farooq to hear PTI’s election-rigging petition on November 25, as the new court rolls out operations including an official website and a winter recess from Dec 22 to Jan 4.