According to the Chief Justices ruling, he cannot proceed with the review because the law provides that for the court to proceed, the panel must be made up of seven judges. The panel he is chairing is made up of six judges, and thus short of a judge to would allow him to proceed.
The death penalty which was upheld by the Supreme Court following the verdict of the High Court was imposed on Chief of Defense Staff Tamba, Omar Bun Mbye, Lamin Badgie, Momodou Gaye, Kawsu Camara alias Bombardier, Gibril Ngorr Secka and businessman Lie Joof.
The new Pakistani Chief Justice Chawhan is quoted as saying "There is a constraint...We don't have a panel of seven members for the case to be reviewed. We cannot hear it until we are seven."
Why there is no seventh judge now or whether there will be one at the next session of the Supreme Court is unclear at this time.
