[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]The Supreme Court (SC) ruled on Tuesday that the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone elections in Punjab till October 8 is unconstitutional.
The ECP had originally scheduled elections in Punjab for April 30, but they were eventually pushed out to October 8 – in both Punjab and the KPP.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Today, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprised of Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar pronounced its reserved judgement.
The bench concluded that the Constitution and legislation do not enable the ECP to postpone the elections, and that elections in Punjab will take place on May 14 rather than April 30.
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The first bench included CJP Umar Ata Bandial, Judge Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail. Justices Aminuddin and Mandokhail, on the other hand, had recused themselves from hearing the case.
Heavy security was put in place before of the hearing, with a strong detachment of police stationed at the top court’s main entrance.
Furthermore, the secretary of defence presented a report on the country’s security condition to the justices in their chamber.
“We have tried our best to maintain the institution’s sanctity. It is the same institution which gave nine years, instead of three months, to a dictator,” he added.
He said that the Attorney General for Pakistan, Mansoor Awan, asked for the formation of a six-member bench with judges who were not present on the bench before, adding “now we hear the news that the verdict has been reserved.”
Sharing his views on the matter during the parliament’s session, he said that a long consultation was held among the ruling coalition on the Supreme Court hearing.
Also Read: Govt won’t accept hasty SC verdict, says Law minister
Govt to not accept decision
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Monday that the government would not accept if the SC announces its decision on a sensitive and important issue “in haste”.
Speaking in the National Assembly, he said that “we will not accept if a decision is made in haste on such a sensitive and important issue”.
Hearing Timeline
The hearing on the PTI’s petition began on March 27 when Judge Munib Akhtar issued a notice to the ECP for violating Supreme Court orders by postponing elections from April to October.
On the second hearing, Judge Bandial stated that the ECP’s decision to postpone the Punjab assembly elections was “hurried.”
The chief judge stated that this is the first time the Supreme Court has considered postponing elections and questioned if the constitution permits it. He also advocated reducing his and other judges’ compensation to allow authorities to fund elections across the country.
Judge Aminuddin Khan recused himself from hearing the case on Thursday, followed by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail the next day.
The court reserved the verdict at the hearing on Monday, with the CJP saying the political side still “has time to negotiate, and to settle rather than creating yet another difficulty.”
“We’re not rigid,” he explained.
The CJP stated that the situation is not just tense inside the courtroom, but also outside of it. He claimed that the legislature might have lowered the temperature.
He stated that because there is no political debate, the case was moved to the Supreme Court. The federal government bears the task of demonstrating that the difficulties will be addressed as soon as practicable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
