LHC dismisses petition seeking restoration of Punjab Assembly

Petitioner fined Rs100,000 for 'overburdening' court

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed on Monday a plea seeking restoration of the Punjab Assembly as non-maintainable.

Citizen Sharafat Ali had filed a petition at the high court contending that then chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi had sent the advice for the dissolution of the provincial assembly illegally and unconstitutionally with malafide intent.

The plea further stressed that the advice sent by Elahi did not give any reason for the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly when being public functionary of the highest order and while exercising any authority or giving any advice, it is necessary that written reasons be given in the advice.

Citing the Supreme Court case titled “Nawaz Sharif vs Federation of Pakistan”, the petitioner said that the opinion formed by the president must be based on concrete grounds.

The apex court had held that opinion must be formed objectively before powers under 58 (2) (b) can be exercised. "Opinion should be so objective that nothing should be left to surmises, likes and dislikes in the process of opinion forming," the court had held.

"The grounds on which the opinion is formed were also held to be open to examination by the court thereby bringing it under the purview of the judicial review," the petition had argued, stressing that the advice in the instant case is neither reasoned nor fulfills the requirement of the law laid down by the supreme court on the subject.

"There is no evidence on record neither it finds mention anywhere in the advice that any material was placed before the chief minister before he formed the impugned advice. There is no evidence that his mind was applied independently before the impugned advice was sent. In fact, it is evident from the circumstances that advice was made on the direction of one former prime minister and is based on malafide," the petition stated.

The petitioner had claimed that the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly was thus unjustified and should therefore be restored.

During the proceedings today, however, Justice Shahid Karim expressed his displeasure over the application.

"Courts are overburdened by such petitions," the LHC judge said.

The petitioner was also fined Rs. 100,000 by the court as his plea was set aside.