Executive has to comply with SC orders: Justice Mansoor Ali says not implementing apex court’s rulings would be ‘a violation of Constitution’

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Senior puisne judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah said that it would be unconstitutional not to implement the Supreme Court verdict.

Addressing a seminar on Saturday, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that no one have the option to disobey the SC order. He was of the view that it is a constitutional binding to implement the verdict of the apex court. “I was called the acting chief justice of Pakistan. It is not true. I am the senior most judge, not the chief justice,” he said.

He added that Qazi Faez Isa is the sitting chief justice of Pakistan and he is very good friend of him. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that minorities have equal rights both in Islam and Pakistan. “Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had stopped to occupy the land of a church and gave rights to the Christians,” he said.

The constitution of Pakistan also provides protection to minorities and Articles 21, 22, 23 and 25 address this subject, he added. According to Mansoor Ali Shah, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah also emphasised over the rights of minorities living in Pakistan. “The Supreme Court has also ruled that all the citizens enjoy equal rights,” said Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

He said that disregarding the apex court’s rulings was also “against the separation of powers”. “Separation of powers is the core component of democracy which shouldn’t be disturbed. This is not a burden or a courtesy that you have to do, but a constitutional obligation that needs to be fulfilled.

“This is a delicate equilibrium which needs to be respected. We have an obligation to keep this equilibrium in balance and there shouldn’t be any executive overreach. No one has the choice or the prerogative to second guess if the judgment is right or wrong,” the justice said. He said that only SC had the prerogative to decide a matter and after that the judgment has to be implemented.

There will be severe consequences if the constitutional duty of implementing the SC’s orders is not fulfilled, he added. It may be noted that the ruling parties recently passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, in parliament which seeks to ‘circumvent’ the Supreme Court’s July 21 ruling that declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a political party and eligible for reserved seats.

The apex court’s full bench on July 21 ruled in favour of the Imran Khan-founded party in the reserved seats case, paving the way for its return to the parliament and effectively depriving the PML-N-led coalition government of its two-thirds majority in the parliament. Justice Shah had announced the 8-5 majority verdict of the SC full bench, which declared the PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and minorities.