Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial took over as the top judge of the country in February. Little did he know then that he would face one of his biggest challenges yet – deciding the fate of Pakistan’s premier
Pakistan President Arif Alvi administered oath to Justice Umar Ata Bandial as the 28th Chief Justice of Pakistan in February. Two months on, the CJP has overturned the president’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly. Image Courtesy: Twitter
In a crucial verdict, the Pakistan Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday struck down National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri’s move to dismiss a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and ordered the National Assembly to be restored.
The order comes as a major blow to Khan who now faces another no-confidence vote on Saturday. If the prime minister loses the vote, he is on his way out.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, while hearing a petition on whether Khan and his allies had the legal right to dissolve parliament, said the 3 April ruling to dismiss the no-trust motion was erroneous. He noted that Suri’s move was “unconstitutional”.
Bandial headed a five-member bench that ruled in favour of Pakistan’s opposition parties who have joined hands to oust the PM. But who is Bandial, the man who has sealed Imran Khan’s fate?
The big verdict
Justice Umar Ata Bandial took over as the top judge of the country in February 2022 and within three months delivered one of the most important verdicts for Pakistan as it plunged into a political crisis.
Bandial is known as a man who does not mince his words. While delivering the decision on Thursday, he referred to the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka and said that the country did not even have money for electricity and other basic facilities.
“Today, the value of rupee against the dollar has reached Rs 190 [in Pakistan]. We need a strong government. This will be a very difficult task for the opposition leader,” Justice Bandial said in front of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Shehbaz Sharif, who is likely to be the next premier of the country.
Bandial does not hesitate to take a stand. In 2007, then-Pakistan military ruler General Pervez declared a Provisional Constitutional Order, proclaiming a state of emergency and suspending the Constitution of Pakistan. Under this emergency, all Supreme Court justices and high court judges were asked to retake their oath. Those who did not were reportedly placed under house arrest. The CJP was one of the judges who declined to retake the oath irrespective of the consequences.
However, he was restored as a judge as a result of a lawyers’ movement for the revival of the judiciary.
A long career
Bandial has spent close to four decades in the justice system. After receiving a Law Tripos degree from Cambridge and qualifying as a barrister-at-law from the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn in London, he was enrolled as an advocate of the Lahore High Court in 1983. A few years later, became the advocate of the Supreme Court.
In his law practice at Lahore, Bandial dealt mostly with commercial, banking, tax, and property matters. He also handled international commercial disputes after 1993, right up until his elevation, and appeared in arbitration matters before the SC and various international arbitral tribunals in London and Paris, according to a report in Dawn.
He was elevated to the Lahore High Court in December 2004 and picked as a judge of the top court in June 2014.
During his career in the superior judiciary, he rendered important judgments on issues of public and private law. These include pronouncements on civil and commercial disputes, constitutional rights, and public interest matters, the Dawn reports.
Challenges as the top judge
When Bandial took over as the SC judge in February, around 51,766 cases were pending before the apex court alone. Clearing the backlog, it was said, would be a big ask.
But little did he expect his country to go into political turmoil. He didn’t know that he would be one of the men who would play a key role in deciding the future of Pakistan.
While delivering Thursday’s judgment that the world has its eyes on, the Chief Justice said, “The real question at hand is what happens next.”
It’s a pertinent query and the possibilities in Pakistan are endless.
With inputs from agencies
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