ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Monday approved the removal of Supreme Court Registrar Ishrat Ali.
The decision was taken during an urgent meeting called by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It was decided in the meeting to remove the apex court registrar. The cabinet issued directives to the Establishment Division in this regard.
The development comes after a senior Supreme Court on Monday wrote a letter to the Establishment Division for the removal of the SC registrar for issuing a circular that went against his judicial order regarding suo motu proceedings.
The cabinet also urged the President Arif Alvi to sign the “Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023” so that the country could be taken out of the constitutional and political crisis.
Later, the Cabinet Division made the supreme court registrar an OSD.
The top court had directed the postponement of suo motu cases until amendments were made in the SC Rules 1980 concerning the chief justice’s discretionary powers to form benches, in a judgement authored by Justice Isa, which was disregarded on Friday.
The circular, issued by the Supreme Court Registrar, noted that the observations made by the majority judgement exceeded the matter before the court and “invoked its suo motu jurisdiction.” The order was found to be in violation of the rules established by a five-member judgement.
