ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court off­ice on Monday returned a petition filed by Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, seeking the hearing of challe­n­ges against the 26th Amendment by a full court.

Reacting to the development, the politician wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that this “amounts to undermining and closing the doors of justice. Will file an appeal.”

In his plea, Mr Khokhar had sought a declaration that the Oct 31, 2024 decision of the committee, under the 2023 Practice and Procedure Act — directing that challenges to the 26th Amendment be fixed before the full court comprising all judges — was binding.

Returning the petition, the registrar’s office stated it was not entertainable since the petitioner had not pointed out what questions of public importance, with reference to the enforcement of any fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, were involved so as to directly invoke the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under Article 184(3).

The office further noted that the petitioner was attempting to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for the redressal of an individual grievance, which is not permissible in light of 1998 Zulfiqar Mehdi case.

Registrar says ‘essential ingredients’ for invoking Article 184(3) not satisfied; politician vows to appeal

In that case, the Supreme Court had held that the Article 184(3) jurisdiction could not be invoked for personal grievances. The case involved a PIA employee, Zulfiqar Mehdi, who had challenged emp­loyment issues with the airline.

The registrar added that the essential ingredients for invoking extra ordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) had not been satisfied.

It was also pointed out that the notice issued to the respondents was also not properly drawn up, as it failed to mention for what purpose the petition had been filed before the top court. Another objection was that multifarious prayers had been made in a single petition.

Moved through Advocate Shahid Jamil Khan, the petitioner had sought a declaration that any administrative act or explanation negating or obstructing the implementation of the committee’s Oct 31 order was unlawful and or of no legal effect.

Mr Khokhar’s petition was filed in the backdrop of an Aug 20 letter jointly written by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar in response to Supreme Court’s decision to make public the committee’s Oct 31, 2024 minutes. Those minutes called for a full court hearing to determine vires of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2025