ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (APP):The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) on Tuesday issued a notice to the federal government on an appeal challenging the Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance. A five-member larger bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq heard the appeal filed by Barrister Gohar.
During the hearing, Advocate Sameer Khosa argued that a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court had already issued an initial ruling on the Practice and Procedure law, while the FCCP had also adopted the Supreme Court rules. Under those rules, he contended, a five-member bench cannot hear the appeal. He maintained that any previous decision can only be reconsidered by a bench equal to or larger than the one that issued the ruling.
Justice Aamer Farooq, however, observed that no such requirement existed in the notification containing the rules issued by the Constitutional Court.
Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman argued that decisions of the FCCP apply to the Supreme Court under Article 189, but since the FCCP is a separate court, the number of judges on the bench is not a determining factor. He maintained that the Constitutional Court itself has the authority to decide how many judges should hear any given appeal.
Advocate Khosa reiterated that the current appeal was filed under the Practice and Procedure Act, and therefore, in his view, the appeal must be heard by a larger bench.
Justice Farooq remarked that, at the stage of issuing notices, the court saw no difficulty.
The court then issued a notice to the federal government and adjourned further proceedings to the next date.
