Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry asked Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to produce those suggestions, saying "that people of Pakistan are the masters and we all are sitting here to serve the public while hearing the 18th Amendment case." "We are repeatedly asking for those 980 suggestions which different sections of society sent to the committee because we want to ascertain how many of them pertain to independence of judiciary," observed Justice Jawwad S Khawaja.
The Raza Rabbani-led committee had issued an advertisement in August last year, inviting suggestions from the people before finalising the draft proposals in relation to the 18th Amendment, he added. "The constitutional amendment is no child's play," Justice Khawaja remarked, saying that "it is a serious business as the constitution is amended for the people and for all times to come."
It is the essence of the constitution-making exercise or the amending process that the will of the people should be reflected in the new version, Justice Khawaja observed. During the proceedings, Justice Javed Iqbal inquired whether or not the court could impose any restriction on the legislative powers and sovereignty of the parliament on the basis of any convention.
Justice Saqib Nisar recalled that the parliaments in countries such as Algeria, Angola and Germany have limited powers but here in Pakistan the power of the parliament was not limited and bars could not be placed on the parliament on the basis of certain notions.
Meanwhile, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada while pleading his petition narrated the historical background of country's constitution. He said the original 1973 constitution was passed with the application of mind and after taking care of the viewpoint advanced by the then opposition.
Referring to Article 175-A of the constitution (method of appointing superior court judges), Pirzada said the new mechanism would have a direct impact on the independence of judiciary as the attack on the institution of the chief justice had been diluted and undone.
The process of consultation between the head of the state and the head of the judiciary (the chief justice) has also been obliterated in violation of the convention settled by the Al-Jihad Trust case (known as Judges' Case). He was of the view that both the law minister and the AG were persona non grata and therefore they should not be part of the judicial commission. Later, the court, adjourned the hearing till Monday.