ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court Registrar’s Office on Friday refused to receive a petition challenging the 27th Constitutional Amendment, stating that petitions of this nature can be filed before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). The 27th Amendment had been challenged by former Justice Shabbir Raza Rizvi. In the petition, it was argued that Pakistan’s Constitution was framed by the Constituent Assembly, which had declared the Supreme Court the highest court under the 1973 Constitution.
The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to declare the 27th Constitutional Amendment null and void and also strike down the lifetime immunity granted under Article 248. The Supreme Court Registrar’s Office had previously also refused to receive another petition challenging the 27th Constitutional Amendment. The petition maintained that the current assembly could not be considered a Constituent Assembly. Thus, it cannot tamper with the constitution’s salient features/basic structure/basic framework as it would amount to abrogating/subverting the impugned provisions of the constitution, in the guise of amendments. The amendments contained in the Constitutional (27th Amendment) Act, 2025 could only be done by a new Constituent-Assembly.
The petitioner argued that the independence of judiciary is one of the salient features of the Constitution, expressly provided by the founders of the Constitution while making the Constitution and also held in a number of judgments of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The dream of democracy shall remain unfulfilled as provided in the constitution, unless judicial independence is ensured and adhered to. It further argued that granting lifetime immunity to any individual was not permissible in an Islamic state, while judicial independence was directly linked to the appointment of judges. The petition claimed that the 27th Amendment had effectively violated the Constitution. The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to declare the 27th Constitutional Amendment null and void and also strike down the lifetime immunity granted under Article 248. The Supreme Court Registrar’s Office had previously also refused to receive another petition challenging the 27th Constitutional Amendment. He submitted that impugned Act/Amendments in many Articles of the Constitution, particularly, in Article 6, 175, 175A, 175E, 200, 206, 248 and 260 amount to ‘abrogation’, ‘subversion’ and ‘destruction’ of the Constitution and the judicial system of the country.
