Islamabad (Web Desk): Supreme Court’s (SC) Senior Puisne Judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, on Saturday said that implementing the top court’s decisions is a constitutional obligation, saying that there is no option to "disregard or delay" the verdicts.
Addressing an event in Islamabad, he said that SC verdict cannot be disregarded or delayed or else the entire legal system will be disrupted and the balance of Constitution will be out if you seek non-implementation of judgments.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that administrative institutions must understand they have no choice but to comply with Supreme Court rulings, stressing,
"This is not my assertion, but what the Constitution demands. The Supreme Court derives its authority solely from the Constitution, he said."
He lamented the lack of implementation of the 2014 Supreme Court ruling on minority rights, expressing regret that this has become a recurring issue. "It is not possible for Supreme Court decisions to go unenforced, but unfortunately, this has become a pattern," he said.
Justice Shah said that to implement court orders was not a “courtesy” or a “burden” but was a “responsibility and constitutional obligation that you have to follow”.
Justice Mansoor pointed out that there was a “delicate equilibrium” in the Constitution between state organs which should be respected.
“It is our obligation to maintain this balance and there should be no executive overreach of any kind. No one has the choice or prerogative to second guess a judgement if it is right or wrong. The prerogative is of the Supreme Court and once it makes an order, it has to be implemented. That is the system of this country and the Constitution of this country. If you want to make a new system then first do so and then we will talk about it.
“It is completely clear that [implementing court verdicts] is a constitutional duty and it has severe consequences if you don’t implement.”
It is pertinent to mention that the ruling parties recently passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, in parliament which seeks to 'circumvent' the Supreme Court's July 21 ruling that declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a political party and eligible for reserved seats.
On July 12, the to court’s full bench ruled in favour of the Imran Khan-founded party in the reserved seats case, paving the way for its return to the parliament and effectively depriving the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government of its two-thirds majority in the parliament.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had announced the 8-5 majority verdict of the SC full bench, which declared the PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and minorities.