• Constitutional Bench issues notices to speaker, his principal secretary
• Case to be taken up again after reconstitution of bench
• Tessori had challenged SHC order allowing speaker access to office

ISLAMABAD: Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi on Monday recused himself from the Supreme Court’s five-judge constitutional bench hearing a controversy over granting complete access to the Sindh Assembly speaker to the offices and chambers of the Governor House in the absence of the governor.

Abid Shahid Zuberi, the counsel for Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, told Dawn that Justice Abbasi had expressed his inability to hear the matter and withdrew from the bench.

The five-judge CB, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, had taken up an appeal filed by Governor Tessori against the Sindh High Court’s June 23 interim order allowing the provincial assembly speaker to use the offices and chambers of the Governor House. The bench also includes Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Shakeel Ahmad, and Aamir Farooq.

The bench postponed further proceedings indefinitely before issuing notices to Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah and his principal secretary. The case will be taken up again after the bench is reconstituted.

During the hearing, Justice Aminuddin suggested to counsel Zuberi that both sides sit together and resolve the disagreement.

Mr Zuberi responded that the SHC had decided the matter in a single hearing, adding that the petitioners had appeared before the court on the given date, but the decision was made without notice to them.

In June this year, the SHC had declared unconstitutional several attempts by the governor’s principal secretary to deny the speaker access to the Governor House. The high court held that the speaker, while performing functions as acting governor, could not be denied access to the Governor House for official business. It directed the secretary to provide immediate access to all offices and chambers at the Governor House.

The SHC also observed that, prima facie, the principal secretary had violated the Constitution by refusing access to the acting governor.

Speaker Shah had told the SHC that he had assumed the role of acting governor on June 2, following Mr Tessori’s departure abroad.

In his petition before the apex court, Governor Tessori contended that he had been impleaded in his personal capacity by the speaker, although Article 248 of the Constitution clearly provides that no civil proceedings may be initiated against a governor in his personal capacity unless notice is served at least 60 days before the institution of proceedings.

He argued that the speaker’s plea for unobstructed access to the Governor House was untenable under the Governor’s Salaries, Allowances and Privileges Order, 1975, which makes it clear that an acting governor is not entitled to the use of the Governor House, as it remains the official residence of the sitting governor.

The petition alleged that the speaker had misled the SHC by not disclosing the 1975 order. It added that Article 104 of the Constitution only allows the speaker to perform the functions of the governor during the latter’s absence, not to enjoy all the privileges and benefits attached to the office.

The petition argued that the SHC’s ex parte mandatory order, issued at an interlocutory stage on the first date of hearing, was contrary to established legal principles. Moreover, the high court’s directive to send copies of its order to the Sindh chief secretary and president’s principal secretary for implementation was described as unwarranted, given that the opposing party had not been heard.

The petition claimed that the allegations made in the speaker’s plea, the media trial that followed, and the manner in which the plea was filed and decided reflected “malice and propaganda” against the governor.

It maintained that the question of rights and privileges of an acting governor remains a recurring constitutional issue that arises whenever a speaker assumes charge in the governor’s absence. The petition urged the Supreme Court to settle the matter once and for all.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2025