Overview
- An eight-judge Constitutional Bench is hearing more than three dozen petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment’s validity and implementing laws.
- Justices signaled the court retains authority to hear such cases, with Justice Mandokhail noting courts cannot be barred and Justice Ayesha Malik calling Article 191A procedural rather than an ouster.
- Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar stressed the Constitutional Bench and the Supreme Court are not separate, underscoring that CB judges are judges of the apex court.
- The judges debated whether they can order a full court, questioned reliance on an October 31, 2024 Practice and Procedure Committee decision, and asked who has power to constitute such a bench.
- The hearing was adjourned to November 10 subject to bench availability, with the bench head retiring on December 1, a timeline that could force reconstitution if arguments are not concluded.