Supreme Court clears path for election

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Friday suspended a Lahore High Court order against the appointment of district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) from the bureaucracy of Punjab, directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue the schedule of the general polls before midnight.

A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa that also included Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Sardar Tariq Masood, passed the order on a petition filed by the ECP earlier in the day challenging the LHC verdict.

A day earlier, the ECP stopped the three-day training of the officers responsible for overseeing electoral activities following the ruling of LHC’s Justice Ali Baqar Najafi issued on a petition filed by PTI Additional Secretary General Barrister Umair Niazi on Wednesday – a development that could have potentially delayed the upcoming general polls scheduled for February 8.

The top court, in its order, termed the LHC’s order as “irresponsible” that was delivered in “haste”.

It directed the high court not to proceed further on the PTI’s petition.

The SC sought the complete record of the case from the high court and ordered that a show-cause notice be issued to PTI’s Niazi, seeking an explanation as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

The court also asked the ECP to issue its general elections schedule before midnight. In response, the ECP secretary assured the court that the schedule would be issued on time, adding that the training of DROs and ROs would restart from Monday.

The court order termed the LHC’s decision in contradiction with the SC’s earlier decision over the general elections. “Conducting elections is a constitutional requirement,” it read.

As the hearing began, CJP Isa remarked that he hoped that the elections would take place on February 8 next year.

In response, the ECP’s lawyer, Sajeel Swati, said that the commission was making every effort to ensure this happened.

The CJP, while addressing the ECP lawyer, pointed out that he had missed his flight because of this matter.

“How are you going to compensate for this? Nevertheless, we’re hearing the case in this court,” he added.

The CJP observed that the LHC judge had interfered with the operations of electoral officers “with a stroke of a pen” and “failed to realise” that they would be performing their duties throughout the country.

He continued that the LHC judge had acted “well beyond” the high court’s territorial jurisdiction and “in undue haste at the eleventh hour”.

Read more: Taking cue from LHC order, govt hints at poll delay

Justice Shah inquired who had approached the LHC for the ruling.

The ECP lawyer replied that the PTI had filed the petition.

The CJP inquired did the PTI not want the general elections to take place in the country.

The ECP lawyer told the court that PTI’s Niazi had approached the LHC and challenged Sections 50 and 51 of the Election Act.

The top judge remarked that the SC would issue a contempt of court notice to Niazi.

“We made our decision [on the elections] based on the petition filed by the same PTI,” he added.

The CJP noted that Niazi was expected to be aware of the Constitution and the law but also reviewed the SC’s November 3 verdict which stated that “no one should be allowed to, on any pretext, derail democracy”.

The top judge remarked that one individual appeared to “have done just that” and it was a matter of “considerable regret” that he claimed to belong to a political party.

"Check whether Umair Niazi is a lawyer or not. It seems the intention was never to let the elections happen in the country," he continued.

Also read: ROs stop election work after LHC order

Telling the ECP lawyer to read out the SC’s November 3 order, which stressed that the general elections should take place on February 8, the CJP noted that Niazi’s petition was a violation of the top court’s verdict.

CJP Isa ordered that the PTI’s petition should be forwarded to the SC to determine its maintainability.

He continued that the top court would hear the petition itself if it deemed it appropriate.

However, he observed that the PTI’s plea, as filed, appeared not to be maintainable.

On the court’s query, the ECP lawyer said a larger bench of the LHC had been formed to hear the matter on December 18 (Monday).

The SC proceedings were later adjourned for an indefinite period after notices were issued to the interim federal and provincial governments and the ECP plea was admitted for hearing.

Later, a meeting was held between Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and the CJP. The huddle, also attended by Justices Sardar Tariq Masood and Ijazul Ahsan as well as the attorney general for Pakistan, discussed the situation following the LHC verdict.