LHC imposes fine on CM Hamza, others for not complying with court order

Court adjourns proceedings till May 30 with direction to respondents for submitting replies

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, the Punjab government, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari and others over non-compliance with the court’s order.

In previous proceedings, LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti had sought replies from the aforesaid by May 25 on different petitions filed for declaring the contest held on April 16 for the chief minister’s CM’s slot in Punjab Assembly as null and void.

The CJ had also sought the input of the respondent’s lawyers on “whether the Supreme Court’s decision about defecting lawmakers will have the retrospective effect”.

The petitions had been filed by the PTI’s lawmakers including Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi.

As the proceedings commenced today, Additional Advocate General Jawad Yaqoob, who could not submit a reply owing to his illness, sought time for doing the same. Similarly, Hamza’s lawyer also sought time for submitting the reply.

Elahi’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar argued that the Hamza had lost the majority after the SC decision of de-seating 25 PTI MPAs who defected from the party’s policy.

To this, CJ Bhatti remarked that it was not the question of whether Hamza had lost the majority but if the apex court’s decision had a retrospective effect. All would be clear if SC’s decision had a retrospective effect.

The high court fixed May 30 with directions to respondents for submitting replies.

Speaker Elahi in his petition requested the court to examine the person who claimed to be the chief minister and whether he obtained the required number of votes in the contest. If he had not received the required votes then Hamza had no right to sit in CM’s office. He sought a fresh election for CM’s slot.

It is worth mentioning that two more separate petitions had been filed in the CJ’s court — one sought the removal of Hamza as chief minister and the second for declaring null and void the contest on CM’s slot held on April 16 in the Punjab Assembly.

Pervez Elahi’s petition

Out of 197 votes obtained by Hamza, 25 votes belonged to members of PTI. The aforesaid 25 members of PTI cast their votes in favour of Hamza instead of Ellahi which was contrary to the directions of the parliamentary party.

Ellahi further prayed the court to declare that respondent Hamza was not the chief minister of Punjab as he had not secured the requisite number of votes as required under the Constitution. The contest held on April 16, the results of the election and the certificate issued by the respondent Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, be declared null and void.

All consequential actions taken by the Hamza in his purported capacity as the provincial chief executive and all and any other communications made, orders passed or notifications issued be set aside and declared to be null and void, the petition further prayed.

The petition further prayed that directions be issued for holding fresh elections for the post of Punjab chief minister according to the Constitution and the law. The oath administered to Hamza be set aside, it added.

Petition for Hamza’s removal

Petitioner senior advocate Mushtaq Ahmed Mohal filed the petition after the apex court’s interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution.

He contended that after the Supreme Court’s interpretation, Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif had lost his constitutional right to remain in power and requested that the court restrain him from holding office as had lost the majority in the provincial assembly.

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He requested the court to declare all measures and actions adopted by the incumbent chief minister as “illegal and unconstitutional”.

The petitioner also asked the court to restrain Hamza from performing his duties as the chief minister of Punjab and that the bureaucracy – including the chief secretary – be stopped from obeying Hamza’s orders.

Contest be declared null and void

PTI lawmaker Sibtain Khan and others had also requested the LHC to declare null and void the election held for the chief minister in the Punjab Assembly on April 16.

The party implored in their petition that PTI lawmakers were thrown out of the PA under the direction of Hamza and claimed that they had been deprived of their right to vote on April 16.

The lawmakers questioned how the police could enter the assembly chambers and stated that despite the provincial assembly’s ban on private members in the assembly chambers, Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari had invited over 300 private members that day.

They contended that PTI lawmaker Ahmad Saleem had not voted for PML-N but he was listed among those who had exercised their right of vote.