Islamabad: The Supreme Court has formed a five-member larger bench, headed by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, to hear the suo motu notice of the murder of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif. The hearing will take place after the holidays.
The decision to form a larger bench was made by a majority vote at a meeting of the Supreme Court’s Practice and Procedure Committee.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel will lead the bench, which also includes Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Athar Minallah.
Sources indicate that the decision to form a five-member bench under Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel was made with a two-to-one ratio, as Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa had suggested retaining a three-member bench led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah proposed forming the larger bench led by Justice Jamal Mandokhel, and Justice Muneeb Akhtar also agreed with this suggestion.
Although the Practice and Procedure Committee decided to form a larger bench based on the majority opinion, Chief Justice Isa’s view was that the case should be heard by the three-member bench during the summer vacation.
The Supreme Court’s five-member larger bench will hear the Arshad Sharif murder case after the summer holidays.
It is worth noting that the previous hearing was conducted by a three-member bench led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who had referred the matter to the committee for the formation of a larger bench.