Islamabad: Supreme Court (SC) resumed its hearing on the suo motu notice related to the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Tuesday (today).
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail is hearing the case.
At the outset of the hearing, attorney general for Pakistan informed the court that he was ready to give arguments.
He also raised an objection on the Supreme Court Bar Association President Abid Zuberi, saying that his name had been removed from the judicial order.
At this, CJP Bandial said that the court sees the SCBA as an institution.
“What is written in the court is not part of a judicial order. It becomes an order when the judges sign it,” he remarked.
After this, Zuberi started his arguments.
“Supreme Court has declared it in the past that the elections should be held in 90 days,” Zuberi stated.
At this, Justice Mandokhail remarked that the presidents and governors were bound to follow the Cabinet’s advice as per the Constitution.
“Can the president or governors give the election date on their own,” he inquired.
Meanwhile, CJP Bandial remarked that the governor wasn’t constitutionally bound to follow anyone’s advice regarding the appointment of a caretaker government or deciding the election date.
While, Justice Mazhar added that “no one’s advice is needed where there is discretion.”
Moving on, the CJP asked that who would issue the notification for the assembly dissolution.
Responding to the question, Zuberi said that the notification for the dissolution of Punjab Assembly had been issued by the law secretary.
The SC had taken the suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the elections of the two assemblies, on February 23, following President Arif Alvi’s announcement of date of polls, a move that drew strong criticism from the government
As per the CJP, the suo motu notice had been taken to assess who was eligible to issue the date for polls and who had the constitutional responsibility of conducting elections and when.
A nine-member bench was constituted to hear the case but the bench was reconstituted after four judges of the bench recused themselves.
The judges that recused themselves were Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Yahya Afridi.
A written order was also issued on the SC’s website in which dissenting notes of Justice Afridi, Justice Minallah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had been included.
In the previous hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the parliament has clearly written in the Elections Act, 2017, that the president can announce the date for polls.
CJP Bandial had said that the hearing will be wrapped up today.
