ISLAMABAD – Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi on Monday recused himself from a five-member Supreme Court bench hearing a constitutional dispute over the Sindh Assembly speaker’s right to access the offices and chambers of the Governor House during the governor’s absence.
The bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and also comprising Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Shakeel Ahmad, and Aamir Farooq, was hearing an appeal filed by Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori against a Sindh High Court (SHC) order granting Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah full access to the premises.
Abid Shahid Zuberi, the counsel for Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, told Dawn that Justice Abbasi had expressed his inability to hear the matter and withdrew from the bench.https://t.co/HwWw4sCOLZ
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) November 4, 2025
Following Justice Abbasi’s withdrawal, the constitutional bench issued notices to the Sindh Assembly speaker and his principal secretary before adjourning proceedings indefinitely. The case will resume once the bench is reconstituted.
During the hearing, Justice Aminuddin advised both parties to resolve the dispute amicably, but Tessori’s counsel, Abid Shahid Zuberi, argued that the SHC had ruled on the matter without granting the petitioners a proper hearing.
The controversy originated in June, when the SHC declared unconstitutional the governor’s staff’s attempts to deny the acting governor — in this case, the speaker — access to the Governor House. The court ruled that the speaker, while performing the governor’s duties, could not be restricted from using official offices and chambers.
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In his Supreme Court petition, Governor Tessori argued that the SHC decision violated legal provisions, including Article 248 of the Constitution, which requires a 60-day notice before initiating proceedings against a governor. He also cited the 1975 Governor’s Salaries, Allowances and Privileges Order, which specifies that the acting governor is not entitled to occupy the Governor House.
The petition urged the apex court to provide clarity on the rights and privileges of acting governors, describing the issue as a recurring constitutional question.
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