The Supreme Court has removed Additional Registrar (Judicial) Nazar Abbas over a significant lapse involving the misallocation of cases, which were assigned to a regular bench instead of the constitutional bench.
The cases, challenging the validity of the Customs Act 1969, were mistakenly fixed before a regular bench. This error resulted in the wastage of institutional and litigants’ time and resources.
Under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, a committee reviewed the matter and decided to reassign the cases to the constitutional bench.
Three judges, Justices Mansoor, Ayesha, and Aqeel, raised concerns in a letter to the Chief Justice, highlighting non-compliance with court orders, which they argued undermines judicial independence and public trust in the judiciary.
The SC has instructed strict adherence to constitutional protocols for future case allocations and directed resources to ensure diligent case scrutiny. Meanwhile, cases fixed for hearing before benches on January 22 have been de-listed to address the issue.
