In the order presented of Constitutional Petition No. 6 of 2023, the Supreme Court detailed its decision in the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act passed in 2023. The court, dominantly by a 10 to 5 majority, upheld the Act as being compatible with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Despite objections from Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed, the Supreme Court validated the Act. This decision essentially dismissed all the related petitions.
Further scrutiny of the Act led to another majority decision. Section 5, sub-section (1), which sanctions the right of appeal prospectively, was declared consistent with the Constitution by a 9 to 6 majority. Again, the opposing justices were Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed.
Nonetheless, not all elements of the Act were supported. Section 5, sub-section (2) of the Act, which permits retrospective appeal rights, was ruled to be ultra vires the Constitution. This position was upheld by an 8 to 7 majority, including the Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justices Sardar Tariq Masood, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Amin-ud-Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Athar Minallah, and Musarrat Hilali.
NRO Deal with Nawaz Sharf Declared Invalid by Supreme Court’s Exceptional Decision
In connection with this court decision, the contentious case of Nawaz Sharf was also influenced. His National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) deal was essentially thwarted due to the Supreme Court’s decision. For further discussion and explanation, we direct you to an existing video [here](https://youtu.be/QLeSRbKSrrM).