LHC orders execution of notices in seats case

Directs ECP to submit its reply to petition seeking implementation of SC's July 12 order

LAHORE:

The high court in the country's largest province has ordered the polls oversight authority to get its notices to various political parties executed while hearing a case related to implementation of an apex court order about allocation of reserved seats to the PTI.

A single-member bench of the LHC, led by Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh, issued the directive on Wednesday during the hearing of a petition filed by Munir Ahmed, represented by his counsel, Azhar Siddique. The petition seeks enforcement of the Supreme Court's July 12 ruling.

The petition requested the court to direct the ECP to immediately issue a notification regarding allocation of reserved seats to the PTI in the National Assembly as well as provincial legislatures in the light of the Supreme Court's majority order.

On July 12, the Supreme Court by a majority of 8 to 5 resurrected the PTI as a parliamentary party as it set aside the ECP's decision not to allocate its reserved seats for women and minorities.

The majority judges issued their detailed order on September 23, stating that the ECP had "failed" to perform its constitutional role as a fundamental "guarantor of democratic processes".

The polls oversight authority, however, once again approached the apex court on September 26 in view of the August 6 amendments to the country's election law—the Election Act, 2017—which put new hurdles in the way of the PTI to get the reserved seats.

During the hearing on Monday, the judge directed the ECP to ensure its notices are served and to inform the court of its progress. He also instructed the ECP to submit a formal response to the petition.

At one of previous hearings, the petitioner's counsel had argued that despite a clear judgment of the eight judges of the Supreme Court, the ECP had not issued yet any notification regarding reserved seats which is tantamount to committing contempt of court.

He said the ECP is not implementing the decision as directed under Article 189 of the Constitution for which Article 204 is already in place and at the same time, the LHC has the jurisdiction in view of Article 187(2) of the Constitution to implement the decision or to enforce it.