Justice Mansoor Ali Shah rubbishes rumours of resignation

The Supreme Court’s senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Saturday rubbished rumours about his resignation and said he was here to stay as a judge of the apex court.

Speculation about the judge’s resignation had emerged in the wake of Friday’s scheduled meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan in which Justice Shah’s call for a full court to hear challenges to the 26th amendment was ignored as the chief justice of Pakistan maintained that a three-judge committee would determine when to fix the petitions against the amendment before the constitutional bench.

Questioned about the matter by reporters today after a function at Islamabad’s Federal Judicial Academy, the judge rubbished the noise as “speculation” and said he was not going anywhere. “I will continue to do the work I can,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his speech at the event, the judge highlighted issues pertaining to child justice in the country. “Please listen to the children in court,” he said while discussing issues faced by children in the judicial system in Pakistan.

Justice Shah emphasised the importance of listening to children and allowing them to participate and express their views in judicial proceedings.

He also highlighted several issues faced by the vulnerable segments of society, particularly children, in the country.

“The juvenile justice system is another challenge because incarceration rates remain alarmingly high and rehabilitation systems are often punitive rather than restorative,” he said while speaking about the nature of contemporary juvenile justice systems.

Continuing on the topic of juvenile offenders, he said “We need to get them out of prisons, put them into some other modes of restoration.”

While speaking about the need for the reinterpretation of Article 11(3) of the Constitution, he addressed Justice Jamal Mandokhel who was also present in the talk and said: “Once again I can’t do it. My friend, who’s from the constitutional bench, I will urge him to do it.

“I apologise I keep coming up with this remark at times but the interpretation of the Constitution is not something I can do anymore.”

Justice Shah also spoke about how child abuse was a big problem that society was facing, quoting a report on child abuse by the non-governmental organisation Sahil about child abuse in Pakistan in 2023.

The data compiled by Sahil showed that 11 children were abused every day in 2023, with mostly acquaintances and relatives involved in the heinous act. The statistics were reported in ‘Cruel Numbers 2023’, launched with the support of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).

Justice Shah further talked about how online child and sexual abuse was increasing with rising internet penetration in Pakistan.

The judge also talked about introducing child-friendly courts and procedures, including setting up dedicated child courts with specialised judges as well as child-friendly courtroom environments, and measures to protect the privacy and dignity of child participants.

Speaking about his recommendations to the chief justice, he talked about the establishment of juvenile justice committees in all tiers of governance and juvenile rehabilitation centres in each district.