The draft was shared on December 12, 2019 in a full-court meeting of the Supreme Court. It is debatable whether all judges will be unanimous in structuring the chief justice’s discretionary powers in initiating public interest litigation. In 2009, the superior judiciary led by then CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry initiated public interest litigation for enforcement of fundamental rights. However, former chief justices – Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Nasirul Mulk, and Anwar Zaheer Jamali –used suo motu power sparingly. Now, after passage one year, incumbent CJP Gulzar has taken first suo motu notice on the coronavirus crisis in the country.

Source: The Express Tribune April 10, 2020 13:55 UTC