Imran challenges ECP’s disqualification ruling in LHC

PTI supremo contends recent amendments to Elections Act 2017 limit ECP's jurisdiction in deciding disqualification

LAHORE:

Imran Khan, the founding chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), challenged in Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling of disqualifying him for five years for not declaring Toshakhana gifts in his statement of assets and liabilities.

Khan contended that recent amendments to the Elections Act 2017 limit the ECP's jurisdiction in deciding the qualification or disqualification of a member based on a court conviction.

In the petition, Khan urged the court to set aside the ECP's notification, which disqualified him for a period of five years and purportedly de-notified him as the returned candidate from constituency NA-45 Kurram-I. He further requested the court to suspend the operation of the notification until the final disposal of the petition.

In his petition, Khan sheded light on the background of the case, emphasising that a complaint from members of his rival political party triggered the National Assembly speaker, also his political rival, to send a reference to the ECP.

Also read: IHC rejects Imran's plea to withdraw appeal against disqualification in Toshakhana case

He accused the ECP of acting with unlawful zeal and haste to exclude him from the upcoming general elections rather than ensuring fair and free elections.

The reference from the National Assembly speaker contended that Khan had not declared certain Toshakhana gifts in his statement of assets and liabilities filed before the ECP under section 137 of the Election Act 2017. The speaker argued that this omission warranted disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.

Despite Khan's explanations, the ECP allegedly illegally de-seated him as a member of the National Assembly from NA-95 (Mianwali) and directed a complaint to be filed against him under the Election Act 2017. Subsequently, the ECP initiated proceedings to remove Khan from the chairmanship of the party.

The former PTI chief challenged this notice, and on January 5, 2023, the court granted him interim relief, restraining the ECP from passing adverse orders.

However, ECP filed a complaint in the court of an additional district and sessions judge in Islamabad (West). Khan argued that the trial that followed lacked the essential elements of a fair trial, as mandated by Article 10-A of the Constitution.

Also read: Imran joins ranks of disqualified PMs

The court allegedly refused to allow the petitioner to present his witnesses, and when the counsel appeared for arguments, the judge did not hear them. In a swift 30-minute proceeding on August 5, 2023, Khan was sentenced to three years in imprisonment and fined Rs100,000, a conviction later suspended by the Islamabad High Court.

Khan contended that despite being elected from NA-45 Kurram-I in the by-elections on October 30, 2022, and not having taken the oath, the ECP issued an impugned notification de-notifying him as a returned candidate and declaring him disqualified for five years without any further proceedings.

He argued that this notification is violative of his fundamental rights, legally misconceived, and not sustainable in law, calling for its set aside.

Central to his argument is the claim that the ECP issued the impugned notification without issuing any notice or hearing him, violating principles of natural justice, due process of law, and Articles 4, 9, and 10-A of the Constitution.