ISLAMABAD: On Monday, a larger bench than the three-judge panel that is currently hearing the review case against Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was requested by the Supreme Court.
The review petition filed by Roshan Ali Baririo seeks Mr. Shah’s disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution for having dual nationality and an iqama or work permit. The review petition will be heard by the bench, which is made up of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Munib Akhtar. The political foe of Mr. Shah is Mr. Baririo.
On January 23, 2019, the Supreme Court rejected a petition challenging the April 6, 2013 ruling that Mr. Shah was ineligible for office on the grounds that the Returning Officer (RO) was not a court of law.
The review petition is currently being evaluated by the court thanks to Mr. Shah’s motion, which emphasises that Justice Yahya Afridi was a member of the bench that dismissed the initial appeal on January 23, 2019.
It declared that because Justice Afridi was not a member of the current bench, the bench had not been properly constituted to hear the review case. In his view, the review petition should not be processed without Justice Afridi.
According to the application, Order 26, Rule 8 of the Supreme Court Rules mandates that, to the extent possible, the review plea be scheduled before the same bench that originally handed down the decision being sought to be reviewed.
