Justice Mansoor Ali Shah raises objections over formation of six-bench

WEB DESK: Penning a letter to the judges’ committee, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah raised objection on the inclusion of Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar in the intra-court appeal.

Justice Shah suggested that a five-member bench be formed based on seniority to hear the intra-court appeal. He also proposed that judges who were members of the committee should not be included in this bench.

He also stated that the Chief Justice expressed a preference for a four-member bench but his secretary informed him late at night that a six-member bench had been formed, despite his earlier objection.

Justice Shah expressed concerns that the judges who were part of the committee that decided to withdraw the case from his bench might not be impartial in hearing the appeal. He requested that his objections be recorded in the proceedings.

The Supreme Court bench, under Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has been the hearing of the ‘power of benches/contempt of court’ case again for the past few days.