ISLAMABAD: A controversy surrounding the allocation of seats reserved for women and non-Muslim candidates to other political parties instead of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which was joined by the PTI-backed independents to grab these seats under the proportional representation system, is expected to be settled today by the Supreme Court, which is set to announce the anxiously awaited decision at noon on Friday.

According to a revised cause list issued by the apex court late in the evening, the 13-judge full court will assemble in Courtroom No.1 at noon to announce the landmark judgement, which will decide once and for all on how the reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies be allocated to political parties under the proportional representation system.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the full court will consist of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

This was the second cause list issued in a day with the earlier suggesting that a three-judge bench consisting of CJP Isa, Justice Afghan and Justice Ageel Ahmed Abbasi would make the announcement in Courtroom No. 1.

Justice Abbasi is not a member of the full court that heard the SIC appeal against the denial of reserved seats to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council by the Peshawar High Court as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan.

On Thursday, the full court met again with all the 13 judges gathering to discuss and consult with each other before coming out with a verdict that has far-reaching ramifications.

A day earlier, the full court alsohad a threadbare discussion on the subject. Though Wednesday`s full court meeting spanned two hours, Thursday`s session lasted only for around 40 minutes at the Supreme Court.

The judges at the meeting had considered different aspects of the controversy at length since the case is of first impression and will have a far-reaching impact in future on the allotment of the reserved seats of women and nonMuslim lawmakers in parliament.

Extreme care and attention are needed in deciding the matter being of historic significance, commented a legal observer on condition of anonymity.

The full court reserved its ruling on Tuesday in response to a set of appeals by the Sunni Ittehad Council against the denial of reserved seats for women and nonMuslim candidates. On May 6, a smaller bench suspended the PHC judgement as well as the March 1 ECP decision of depriving the SIC of seats reserved for women and minorities. As a result, the ECP on May 13 suspended the notifications of 77 returned candidates on reserved seats.