A three-member bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in a unanimous verdict that the Review of Judgements and Orders Act, 2023 was 'unconstitutional', jeoparding former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's prospects of making a comeback in the country's politics.
The elder Sharif and ex-Pakistani lawmaker Jahangir Tareen were seeking to challenge their lifetime disqualifications under Article 62 of the Constitution. They would have gotten the opportunity to fulfill their political ambitions amid the upcoming general election, had the verdict been in favour of the petitions, Geo News reported.
The law was enacted in May 5, and was challenged by many individuals and political institutions, also including former PM Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Pakistan's Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan had earlier asked the court to dismiss the pleas on the grounds that it does not curb the Supreme Court's powers.
The law added to the review jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, giving the right to file an appeal within 30 days of the judgement in suo motu cases, giving a chance for disqualified parliamentarians to appeal their disqualifications.
"The Supreme Court Review Act is against the Constitution," said the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said, adding that the verdict was passed unanimously. The Act was struck down as 'null and void' and of no legal consequence.
The apex court of Pakistan pointed out that the independence of the judiciary is a "recognized salient feature" of the Constitution and the provisions of the judgements review Act affect such independence. "Further, any intrusion by any organ of the State in the independence of judiciary affects every citizen of the country and is therefore a question of great public importance," it also said.
The Pakistani Supreme Court stressed that the Parliament cannot legislate any matter relating to the powers of the Supreme Court and the 2023 Act is an "intrusion in the basic and fundamental features" of the Constitution that alienates fundamental rights of citizens.
"There can be no two opinions that the power to interpret the Constitution vests exclusively with the Supreme Court of Pakistan," it added.
How it affects Nawaz Sharif's comeback?
Nawaz Sharif, who has served as the Prime Minister for three non-consecutive terms, was disqualified in 2017 by the Supreme Court over corruption allegations related to the Panama Papers Leak, and was deemed ineligible to hold public office for life in 2018. Before he went to London in 2019, Nawaz was serving a seven-year prison sentence in Lahore for his role in the Al-Azizia corruption case.
Outgoing PM Shehbaz Sharif has already promised that Nawaz will become the next premier of the country if his party comes to power. However, his chances can be impacted by the Supreme Court's latest verdict, which deems the law as 'repugnant' and an effort to interfere in the apex court's powers and jurisdiction.
The law was introduced when tensions ran high between the Pakistani judiciary and executive over differences in holding elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces. The government had hurriedly passed the law to dilute Chief Justice Bandial's discretionary powers to take suo motu actions.
However, former Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has claimed that the verdict would have no impact of Nawaz's disqualification and his return to Pakistan. Terming the law as 'unfortunate', Tarar said, "It is not a good tradition if courts will repeatedly interfere in Parliament’s workings and give verdicts that impair its independence."
(with PTI inputs)
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