Overview
- The Supreme Court registrar on Friday refused to receive a petition from former judge Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi and told him to file the challenge before the Federal Constitutional Court.
- Rizvi asked the Supreme Court to declare the 27th Constitutional Amendment null and void and to strike down lifetime immunity under Article 248, arguing the 1973 Constitution’s basic structure cannot be altered by an ordinary parliament.
- The petition says the 1973 Constitution was framed by a Constituent Assembly that made the Supreme Court the highest court, so the present parliament lacked authority to change that core feature.
- Coverage notes the FCC was established by the 27th Amendment and that its judges are reported to be appointed by the executive, which critics say raises questions about judicial independence if the FCC must rule on the amendment that created it.
- The registrar’s repeated refusals to accept such petitions mean the substantive constitutional issues remain unadjudicated for now and observers will watch whether the FCC will take up or dismiss challenges and how appointment practices affect its credibility.