Proceedings concerning PTI founder Imran Khan’s transfer to hospital have developed into a broader jurisdictional issue involving Pakistan’s Supreme Court and Federal Constitutional Court.
On September 15, the Federal Constitutional Court summoned the complete record of cases concerning Khan’s proposed transfer to Shifa International Hospital that were pending before the Supreme Court. The FCC acted under Article 175-E of the Constitution while hearing a petition filed by three Adiala jail inmates.
Dawn reported that Article 175-E, inserted through the 27th Constitutional Amendment, gives the FCC authority to call for the record of a case and to decide matters involving major questions of constitutional law.
Supreme Court expresses reservations
A day later, the Supreme Court expressed reservations over the FCC’s direction that the hospital-transfer cases be fixed before it.
The Supreme Court nevertheless deferred its own proceedings for three weeks, with the bench observing that propriety required deferment in the circumstances.
The proceedings therefore extend beyond the underlying request for hospital transfer. They also involve how jurisdiction is exercised between the Supreme Court and the newer Federal Constitutional Court under the constitutional framework.
Pakistan Report is not taking a position on which court’s interpretation should prevail. The issue remains part of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Sources
- FCC summons Supreme Court’s case records on Imran’s hospital transfer
- Imran’s hospital transfer: SC expresses reservation at fixation of cases before FCC