ISLAMABAD: The deliberations of the parliamentary panel on the mechanism of filing reference against the judges of the superior courts have stalled because of ‘uninterested’ ministers.
The Special Committee of the National Assembly, constituted to devise mechanism for filing reference before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) under Article 209 of the Constitution, in the last meeting held on June 13 invited Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi and AGP Mansoor Usman Awan to seek assistance in filing references against the CJP and other judges over conflict of interest.
However, when the committee meeting resumed under the chairmanship of Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, none of the invitees were in attendance.
The committee perused Article 209 of the Constitution, which deals with the impeachment of judges of the superior courts over misconduct, with a specific focus on Clause 3.
The committee was of the view that if the reference is filed against the CJP, the senior puisne judge of the apex court would chair SJC proceedings.
Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2023
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