ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) plea seeking review of the apex court’s verdict on holding Punjab Assembly elections on May 14.
“The court will intervene whenever there is a Constitutional violation,” Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial remarked during the hearing of the case.
A three-member bench, headed by CJP Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, observed that the top election organising body did not have Constitutional right to extend the poll date.
During the hearing, the ECP’s counsel Sajeel Swati maintained that they had received the detailed order regarding the Punjab polls two weeks ago therefore they wanted to submit some additional documents in the light of this verdict.
He requested the court to give him a week time to prepare his arguments.
To which, Justice Akhtar remarked that the matter before the bench was a review petition and a verdict on the election delay case had already been announced.
Justice Ahsan observed that the Constitution does not give the ECP the authority to extend the election date, while the SC has also ruled the same.
Before wrapping up the case, the CJP declared that the ECP’s plea could not be accepted in the current situation, so it is being dismissed.
It may be noted that the initial bench formed to hear the election delay case comprised five members, including the existing bench members and Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
However, it was reconstituted multiple times due to the recusal of the two judges and subsequent dissolution.
Later, the diminished three-member bench rejected Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan’s request for the formation of a full court to hear PTI’s case against ECP’s decision to defer the polls.
