On Wednesday, a special Supreme Court bench, in a two-to-one majority, decided to suspend all suo motu cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution until amendments are made to the Supreme Court Rules concerning the chief justice’s discretionary authority.
The special bench ruling came in relation to a suo motu case examining the awarding of 20 extra points to a Hafiz-e-Quran student during their MBBS/BDS degree admission. The bench consisted of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, and Justice Shahid Waheed. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial formed the three-member special bench to hear the case; however, Justice Isa took issue with the bench’s composition.
Justice Waheed, who wrote a dissenting note against the decision, objected that the points raised and discussed in the ruling were irrelevant to the case.
Justice Isa’s written order stated that the Supreme Court Rules, 1980 neither permit nor envision special benches, despite establishing a three-judge special bench for this case. The order highlighted three categories of cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, but Order XXV of the Rules only addresses the first category. No procedure exists for the second and third categories, and there is no appeal against decisions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
The order also pointed out that the rules don’t specify how to handle certain matters, such as listing cases for hearing, constituting benches, or selecting judges for these cases. The majority order emphasized that the CJP and all judges constitute the Supreme Court. The Constitution does not grant the Chief Justice unilateral and arbitrary power to decide these matters.
The order suggested postponing hearings for this case and all others under Article 184(3) of the Constitution until the necessary rules are made under Article 191.
In a related development, the National Assembly passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, which limits Pakistan’s top judge’s discretionary powers to take suo motu notice. The bill was passed shortly after the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice approved it.
 of the Constitution until amendments are made to the Supreme Court Rules governing the chief justice's discretionary powers.){kind=link}