Senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court (SC) Justice Qazi Faez Isa said on Wednesday that the Constitution empowers the apex court as a whole to take notice of cases of original jurisdiction (suo motu), and not just the top judge. Speaking at an event commemorating the golden jubilee of the Constitution, Justice Isa stressed that the book "is not to serve the interests of a select few people, politicians, parliament or the judiciary, but the people". Justice Isa held that suo motu notices should be dealt with "great care" when invoked because there is no constitutional space for appealing against it so that "one party may benefit but another may be harmed". "It also brings some shame to me that the Supreme Court kept on supporting these steps. It was challenged that the resolution is wrong but they (the SC) said ‘Let’s move on’,” said Justice Isa.

Source: The Express Tribune April 19, 2023 15:33 UTC