Three senior judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, have sent a letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi expressing concern over the non-scheduling of the “bench powers” case. The judges argued that this delay constituted a violation of judicial orders and amounted to contempt of court.
The letter, which was also addressed to Justice Aminuddin Khan, pointed out the failure to hear the case on January 20, despite prior instructions. Justice Aqeel Abbasi, who had been added to the bench on January 16, had previously handled the case while serving in the Sindh High Court.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, in his letter, criticized the delay, asserting that the case should have been scheduled according to earlier judicial directions. He emphasized that the failure to list the case for hearing amounted to ignoring the judicial order, which he deemed as disobedience of the law.
The letter also referenced the Practice and Procedure Committee meeting on January 17, where Justice Mansoor made it clear that he had not attended, as he believed the committee had the authority to form the previous bench and schedule the hearing without his involvement.
Justice Mansoor underscored that the non-scheduling of the case violated judicial norms and weakened the integrity of the legal process. He labeled the omission as contempt of court and urged the Chief Justice to take suitable action.
