ISLAMABAD — The Supreme Court Registrar’s Office has declined to accept a constitutional petition challenging the 27th Constitutional Amendment, ruling that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court.
The petition was filed by former Justice Shabbir Raza Rizvi, who argued that Pakistan’s Constitution was originally framed by the Constituent Assembly, which had designated the Supreme Court as the highest judicial authority under the 1973 Constitution.
Core Arguments of the Petition
The petitioner contended that the current legislative assembly does not possess the status of a Constituent Assembly and therefore cannot alter the basic structure of the Constitution. Among the key objections raised were:
- Granting lifetime immunity to any individual is impermissible in an Islamic state.
- Judicial independence is directly tied to the process of appointing judges.
- The 27th Amendment effectively violates the foundational principles of the Constitution.
The petition sought a declaration that the 27th Constitutional Amendment is null and void, and also requested the striking down of lifetime immunity provisions under Article 248.
Registrar’s Stance
The Registrar’s Office maintained that constitutional petitions of this nature must be directed to the Federal Constitutional Court, a body established to handle such disputes. This is not the first time a challenge to the 27th Amendment has been turned away at the Supreme Court’s initial filing stage.
Legal observers note that the repeated refusal signals a procedural shift in how constitutional amendments are contested, reinforcing the role of the Federal Constitutional Court as the primary forum for such cases.
