- Joint letter alleges SC Rules approved illegally via circulation.
- Judges say notified rules make new meeting “puzzling”.
- Full court decides “court fees remain under 1980 rules”.
ISLAMABAD: Four Supreme Court judges refused to attend a “cosmetic” full court meeting summoned by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi today, raising objections to the process for reviewing and approving the SC Rules, 2025.
The joint letter, authored by senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Athar Minallah, underscored the divisions within the judiciary.
They stated that the process followed for approving the rules was not legally valid and noted that the rules were approved through circulation rather than being placed before a full court for discussion and approval.
The letter further noted that the rules had already been notified on August 9, making the convening of a full court meeting at this stage “puzzling”.
“The contradiction is stark,” it added, “[…] If the Full Court was not deemed necessary for the adoption of the Rules themselves, how can it now be summoned to deliberate upon their amendment?”
“By seeking its views only after notifying the Rules, the exercise reduces the Full Court to a cosmetic role, a forum for ratifying what has already been done rather than discharging its true constitutional function under Article 191.”
“In effect, the meeting is being wed to give a veneer of legitimacy to an otherwise invalid process.”
The judges also stressed that their objections should be made part of the full court meeting’s minutes, which they urged should also be made public.
The judges maintained that until their fundamental concerns were addressed, they “see no point in attending a meeting that is premised on amending Rules which, in our respectful view, already suffer from illegality both in substance and in process.”
They also called the meeting “stamp of approval” which was “convened not for decision-making but for damage control”, that “undermines the collective authority of this Court”.
‘Joint letter not discussed in meeting’
The CJP-led full court meeting, held to discuss court rules and judicial fees, was not attended by the four SC jurists.
The joint letter written by the dissenting judges was not taken up during the proceedings, sources told Geo News.
The meeting decided by majority that court fees would continue to be charged under the Supreme Court Rules of 1980.
It was noted that both the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) had expressed reservations over proposed increases in court fees.
The meeting also sought further suggestions from judges, which will be referred to a four-member committee. Once the committee has reviewed the proposals, another full court meeting will be convened, the sources added.
