The Sindh High Court rejected the petition against the proposed 26th constitutional amendment on Monday.
The petition filed by lawyers opposing the proposed constitutional amendment was heard by Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Shafi Siddiqui questioned how the court can intervene when the amendment has not been done. He further asked how the court can determine before the amendment whether the amendment is in accordance with the law or not.
The petitioner's lawyer, Ibrahim Saifuddin Advocate, said that the draft of the constitutional amendment has been brought to the assembly, on which the Chief Justice stated, " You came here with the petition? There are 24 crore people's elected representatives sitting in the assembly."
The judge asked the petitioner lawyer, "Have you read the judgment of the Supreme Court on the Practice and Procedure Act? The lawyer replied that he had read the judgment.
Chief Justice Shafi Siddiqui expressed his outrage, stating, "Despite that, you had the audacity to file such a petition? How is this petition even admissible?"
The lawyer stated that the constitutional amendment is against the people's rights and an attack on the judiciary. He said that before the amendment, the draft should be brought before the bar councils and lawyers' organizations and there should be a discussion.
The Chief Justice inquired, "Under which law can we order the draft to be presented before bar councils and lawyers' associations? A petition is filed after writing just three or four lines, and then it gets published in newspapers. How can we go against the decision of the Supreme Court's 15-member bench?"
Advocate Ibrahim Saifuddin argued that it is necessary to take the public into confidence, to which Chief Justice Shafi Siddiqui responded, "The representatives of 240 million people are present in the assembly."
Subsequently, the court dismissed the petition against the proposed 26th constitutional amendment.
