KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the acting governor, who is also the speaker of the provincial assembly, the chief secretary, and the law secretary in response to two petitions challenging a recently promulgated ordinance. The ordinance grants the high court’s constitutional benches (CBs) exclusive jurisdiction over constitutional matters under Article 199.
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A two-judge bench comprising Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry and Justice Muhammad Jaffer Raza also put the advocate general on notice for Nov 27. The petitions, filed by Barrister Ali Tahir and Advocate Mohammad Arshad, seek to strike down the ordinance, arguing that it exceeds the legislative competence of the provincial assembly and violates judicial independence.
The SHC overruled objections raised by its registrar’s office, accepting that the vires of an ordinance can be examined under Article 199. The court noted that the petitions were filed in public interest, aiming to question the legality of the ordinance promulgated by the acting governor without the advice of the chief minister and cabinet.
The petitioners contended that Section 6 of the ordinance, which declares a judge’s refusal to join the constitutional bench as “prima facie misconduct,” exceeds legislative authority and violates Articles 202-A, 209, and 105 of the Constitution. They argued that the ordinance interferes with the administration of constitutional matters within the SHC and effectively ousts the jurisdiction of regular benches.
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Noting the complexity of the issues raised, the bench issued notices to all respondents, except the governor, for Nov 27, signaling a detailed hearing on the constitutionality of the ordinance.