ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led federal government has demanded Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to resign as the top judge after Supreme Court judge Justice Athar Minallah’s hard-hitting note that noted the suo motu case on the delay in holding elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab was dismissed by 4-3.
In a press conference, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said: “Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has now become controversial. Therefore, he should resign.”
The constitutional crisis persists as the demand comes a day after the National Assembly (NA) passed a resolution rejecting the three-member Supreme Court bench’s “minority” verdict on the Punjab elections. It made it binding on Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet not to implement the apex court’s decision.
Chief Justice’s suo motu notice
Justice Athar Minallah was among the judges who rejected the suo motu notice taken by the Chief Justice regarding the delay in elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the advice of an SC bench hearing the Ghulam Mehmood Dogar case.
Chief Justice Bandial had formed a nine-member bench to hear the suo motu case on elections delay. However, two senior judges of the nine judges recused themselves from hearing the case, while four — Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Athar Minallah — had dismissed the case.
In the note, Justice Minallah reiterated that the “manner and mode” in which these proceedings were initiated had “unnecessarily” exposed the court to political controversies.
Aside from eroding public confidence, the assumption of suo motu may “raise concerns in the mind of an informed outside observer,” he explained, adding that this would also prejudice the rights of litigants whose cases are pending.
The demand for Chief Justice Bandial’s resignation has further complicated the situation, as the head of the judiciary is now embroiled in political controversy. It remains to be seen that how the situation will develop in the coming days, as the crisis shows no signs of abating.
