ISLAMABAD:
The newly constituted Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday began hearing cases at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building, with the chief justice’s courtroom previously used by IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.
The court, formed under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, also expanded to seven judges with the induction of Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech.
Justice Shah served as the chief judge of the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court from 2019 to 2022 while Justice Barrech was elevated to the FCC from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) where he had been serving as the chief justice since June this year.
According to sources, the FCC will be permanently established in the IHC building located on Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue, while the IHC itself will be shifted back to its old building in the G-10 sector of the federal capital and the relocation process is expected to be completed by January.
Items from the third floor of the current IHC building have already been moved to the G-10 premises. Assistant Registrar Mohammad Asad had been appointed supervisor for the transfer of records.
At IHC’s Courtroom No 2—formerly Justice Kayani’s courtroom—a simple handwritten slip reading “Chief Justice, Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan” was pasted at the entrance.
On Monday, the FCC formally commenced proceedings after notifying three benches. The first bench, headed by FCC Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, included Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah.
The second bench comprised Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Justice K K Agha while the third bench included Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech.
Proceedings in the courtroom of Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. During roughly half an hour of proceedings, the bench heard all five cases, though lawyers did not appear in two of them.
The bench took up the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) appeal against the Sindh High Court decision regarding the use of public parks in Karachi for commercial sports activities.
KMC’s counsel argued that the matter related to KMC’s powers and that the corporation had approved the use of public parks for sports activities through a resolution. The SHC had held that KMC lacked such authority, prompting the appeal.
The bench remarked that the matter involved public interest and issued a stay order against the SHC judgment. It also issued notices to all parties and adjourned the hearing until 27 November 27.
The petitioner’s lawyer stated that contempt petitions had also been filed against them. The bench directed the SHC not to proceed with contempt proceedings.
The bench also heard a case related to the availability of life-saving medicines.
During the hearing, Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman appeared before the bench on the court’s call. The chief justice remarked that this was a public-interest case and the government must review the availability of medicines.
The bench sought a report from DRAP regarding the availability of medicines and adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.
