Four judges of the Supreme Court have written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi, raising objections over the approval of Supreme Court rules through circulation instead of a full-court meeting.

The letter, signed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Ayesha Malik, marks the latest expression of dissent within the apex court over procedural issues.

According to the letter, the judges argued that the Supreme Court rules are not routine matters that can be decided through circulation.

They stressed that such rules are framed under the Constitution and therefore cannot be approved without open deliberation in a full-court session.

The judges said they had received a letter calling for a full-court meeting, but noted that the rules were never formally placed before the full bench.

Instead, a single-point agenda was circulated, referring only to resolving complications arising from the new rules.

The four judges questioned why a meeting was convened to discuss amendments if the approval of rules through circulation was considered sufficient.

Until “our fundamental objections” are addressed, there is no benefit in participating in such a meeting, the letter read.

They further demanded that their communication be made part of the full-court meeting minutes and that the minutes themselves be made public.

In their view, the rules, as approved, suffer from “illegality.”

Sources confirmed that the four judges did not attend the full-court meeting in protest.