Judiciary bound by law, not past rulings: Punjab Assembly speaker

LAHORE: Hours before the Supreme Court detailed judgement on reserved seats case, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said the judiciary is bound to adjudicate cases on the basis of the law in force.
“It is our established position, which is also pronounced by various benches of the Supreme Court, that the law in force has priority over Supreme Court judgement [given under the previous law],” he told a press conference before the start of the assembly session here on Monday.
He said the July 12 short order of the apex court on the reserved seats issue blocked the way of various clauses of the Constitution, including floor crossing, as a parliamentarian could submit an affidavit showing one’s affiliation with one party and then submit a new affidavit the next day to join another party.
The parliament made things clear by passing the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2024 on Aug 7 and thus clearing the blockade, he asserted, adding all institutions, including the judiciary, are now bound to act in accordance with the new law unless it is declared as ultra vires by the Supreme Court.
“My recent letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan was under the same spirit,” he said.
Regretting that the parliament was robbed of its rights under the garb of barring it from framing laws against the basic structure of the Constitution during the last three decades of judicial activism, he urged upon MPs from both sides of aisle to win back the rights of the parliament to appoint judges snatched by the judiciary through the 19th constitutional amendment which, he said, was passed by harassing the parliamentarians on the eve of the 18th amendment.
“How can one be a judge of one’s own cause? How can [the Supreme Court] appoint judges on its own and then remove only through the Supreme Judicial Council, eliminating the role of the parliament and executive altogether in the process?” he questioned.
Speaker Khan also announced that certain changes have been made in the rules of procedure of the provincial assembly to bring powers of the standing committees for parliamentary oversight of the executive at par with the committees of the National Assembly.
He said he had been raising this issue when the PTI was in power with then speaker Parvez Elahi but to no avail as the previous assembly worked with only three special committees instead of total 42 standing committees.
The changes in rules of procedure also includes making playing of the national anthem mandatory before every sitting of the provincial house like in the National Assembly, allowing MPAs to use any language during the assembly proceedings, increasing time for the Question Hour.
The key changes also include a requirement for police to obtain permission from the speaker before arresting a member of the assembly.
The speaker said that these changes were aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability within the assembly’s functioning.
He said the standing committees were now empowered to decide on public petitions independently and make their proceedings public, a move intended to streamline processes and improve efficiency.
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024