Constitutional Court dismisses 1,178 review petitions on Income Support Levy Act

The Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed 1,178 review petitions filed against a ruling on the Income Support Levy Act 2013. The Chief Justice of the court released the written judgment, according to Express News and Daily Pakistan.

The court upheld the 28 December 2021 judgment of former justice Qazi Faez Isa. On that date a two-member Supreme Court bench had dismissed an appeal in the case of Commissioner Inland Revenue versus Muhammad Mustafa.

While review petitions were pending, a three-member bench allowed an appeal on 21 June 2022 in another case raising nearly the same question. That judgment was written by Justice Munib Akhtar. The Federal Constitutional Court said the later bench's decision raised serious concerns about judicial discipline and institutional procedure.

The court said benches must respect earlier judgments, and that an appeal succeeding in a separate case does not automatically revise an earlier judgment. It also said a judgment remains effective until the law is amended, repealed or declared void.

On the merits, the court said legislation cannot be enacted by bypassing the Senate. It said Articles 70 and 73 of the Constitution set out the lawmaking procedure, and that the levy cannot be upheld as a money bill.

The court said passage by both houses of Parliament is constitutionally mandatory and not a formality, and that the Senate represents the federating units. It said a constitutional defect in passing the Act cannot be called a mere irregularity.

On review jurisdiction, the court said it is limited and exceptional and corrects errors apparent on the record. The review power cannot be equal to the appeal power, it said, and settled disputes cannot be reopened unless an evident error meeting review standards is found.

The reports note that the Sindh High Court had refused to allow the Act, and that the Supreme Court had held the constitutional lawmaking procedure was not followed before the Finance Act was enacted.