Pak President Alvi returns to Parl Bill curtailing chief justice's powers
Islamabad: Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Saturday returned to Parliament for reconsideration a bill aimed at clipping the powers of the chief justice, citing that the proposed legislation is beyond the jurisdiction of the legislative body and can be assailed as a "colourable legislation".
Pakistan is witnessing a rift between the judiciary and the government after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Uma Ata Bandial on Tuesday fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the Election Commission's decision to extend the date of the poll from April 10 to October 8.
The apex court's verdict was criticised by the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which has refused to accept it. The government also is keen to curb the suo moto (on its own) powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Bandial.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 was approved by both houses of Parliament last month and sent to the president for assent.
