Syed Mansoor Ali Shah (Urdu: سید منصور علی شاہ) is a Pakistani jurist who is serving as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
[12][13] In November 2014, he urged the federal government of Pakistan to dismiss Maryam Nawaz from her position as Chairwoman of the Prime Minister's Youth Programme, stating that her appointment should have adhered to due legal processes.
[14] Following this, many questioned Shah’s chances of becoming Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, given that the PML-N was in power both in Punjab and at the federal level.
Shortly after being sworn in as chief justice, he implemented significant reforms aimed at enhancing self-accountability within the judicial system he oversaw.
[19] In July 2017, a lawyer filed a petition in the IHC accusing Chief Justice Shah of taking a government loan for his textile mills and his son's medical expenses.
[29] The same month, he and several other Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice Isa, received letters reportedly containing anthrax powder.
[30] In his address to the annual Asma Jahangir Conference held in April 2024, he expressed dissatisfaction with the history of the Judiciary of Pakistan, pointing out that "mafias" have been influencing the judicial system.
This prompted concerns from the legal community, with some arguing that Parliament of Pakistan was not fully representative and lacked the constitutional, democratic, and moral authority to legislate legitimately.
[32] In May 2024, amid continued rumors of PML-N led government plans to amend the Constitution to extend Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa's tenure, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced it would oppose such moves.
This delivered a significant blow to the ruling coalition led by PML-N.[34] It was observed that Chief Justice Isa's relationship with Shah and Munib Akhtar had become tense following this PTI reserved seats case.
[40] On 18 September, Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also expressed his belief that Shah would assume the role of the next chief justice.
[41] On 21 September, the federal government issued a presidential ordinance to amend the Supreme Court's Practice and Procedure Act 2023 to grant the chief justice greater powers.
Within hours of the enactment of the amended ordinance, Chief Justice Isa reconstituted the three member committee of senior-most judges by replacing Munib Akhtar with Aminuddin Khan.
[42] On 21 September, Shah wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Supreme Court, stating his boycott to attend the judges' committee meeting due to the new ordinance.
He expressed his strong objections to the Practice and Procedure Ordinance and referred to the committee as a "one-man show," pointing to the Chief Justice Isa.
He also expressed concerns regarding Akhtar's removal from the committee and called for the formation of a full court to address the implications of the newly enacted Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance.
[35] On the same day, Shah also released a much-awaited majority detailed verdict on the PTI Reserved seats case,[46] which received praise from legal experts across the country.
"[49] An Express Tribune editorial also stated "It leaves no option for the government or the ECP but to submit and implement the decision [read judgment] in toto.
He also claimed that the formation of a constitutional court aims to limit the Chief Justice's power and criticized the government for wanting their own judges to obscure the alleged rigging in the 2024 general election.