ISLAMABAD, October 24, 2025 — Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan on Thursday observed that disregarding Article 191A, which created the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench (CB) under the 26th Amendment, would effectively amount to granting the petitioners “final relief.” His remarks came as an eight-member bench resumed hearings on more than three dozen petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment passed by Parliament in October last year.
The controversial amendment curtailed the Supreme Court’s suo motu powers, limited the chief justice’s term to three years, and vested the appointment of the chief justice in a Special Parliamentary Committee. It also enabled the formation of the CB, which is now tasked with examining the amendment’s validity. Critics, including opposition parties and legal experts, have argued that the changes undermine judicial independence.
Judges that are uniformly beneficiaries of the 26th amendment – who also never had a chance at the CJship previously – happen to be the same ones observing the Constitution (Art 191A) bars them from forming a full court.
Of course, 191A says not a word on the subject.
— Asad Rahim Khan (@AsadRahim) October 23, 2025
During the hearing, Advocate Uzair Bhandari, representing the Sunni Ittehad Council, began his arguments. The bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, questioned how the CB could disregard Article 191A when it served as the legal basis for its own formation. Justice Hassan emphasized that ignoring the provision would be equivalent to ruling in favour of the petitioners.
Justice Ayesha Malik noted that Article 191A did not take away powers from any institution but rather vested them in the Supreme Court. The bench will resume proceedings on November 10.
The petitions before the court were filed by bar associations, lawyers, and political figures, including the PTI, which alleged that several of its lawmakers were coerced into supporting the amendment. Petitioners have requested the Supreme Court to either annul the entire amendment for violating procedural requirements or strike down specific provisions seen as compromising judicial autonomy.
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The bench is also considering multiple requests for a full court to hear the matter. Until a decision is made on the forum, the legality of the 26th Amendment, and by extension, the CB itself, remains unresolved.
