History never forgives: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah

Supreme Court senior judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has refused to sit at special or larger benches formed by the committee after Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 amendments passed through a Presidential Ordinance last month.

In a letter addressed to the committee, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Shah expressed his concerns about the formation of benches, writing: “I will not participate in special benches formed by the new committee and will only attend sittings of regular benches to hear the cases of ordinary litigants in the larger public interest.”

“We often forget, when in power, that people of this country are watching our actions and that history never forgives,” he remarked.

He quoted Sir Thomas More from A Man for All Seasons: “I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.”

There has been significant controversy over the appointment of the next CJP after the coalition government successfully passed the 26th amendment, which gave more power to the Special Parliamentary Committee to appoint the next Chief Justice.

Before the amendments, Justice Shah, being the senior judge, would have become the next CJP after Justice Isa. The committee, however, nominated Justice Yahya Afridi as the next CJP, bypassing the other two senior judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.