PTI seeks review of SC tribunal verdict

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court's September 30 order with regard to appointment of election tribunals in Punjab province.

The party has contended that a meeting between the Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice and the chief election commissioner (CEC) cannot be used as a reason to supersede nomination of tribunals.

The petition filed through Advocate Salman Akram Raja contests the Supreme Court's July 4 and September 30 orders. It requests the court to declare that the exclusive authority to allocate election petitions to election tribunals resides solely with the chief justice of the relevant provincial high court.

While hearing petitions filed by some PTI candidates including Salman Akram Raja, LHC's Justice Shahid Karim in June ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to notify six more election tribunals for Punjab within one week according to a list of judges sent by the LHC's then chief justice.

The judge further nullified the notification granting the ECP the authority to assign cases to the tribunals. Following the order, CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja announced that the ECP would challenge the decision.

As the ECP was reluctant to comply with the LHC's directives, LHC chief justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan—who is now a Supreme Court judge—announced on June 12 the formation of the tribunals himself. The LHC chief justice also assigned the tribunals their jurisdictions.

The ECP later challenged the move in the SC which on July 4 suspended the LHC's June 12 notification, as well as the high court's determination that its chief justice has the final say in the appointment of tribunals to settle election disputes.

The apex court also directed that a meaningful consultation be held between LHC incumbent Chief Justice Aalia Neelum and CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja for the formation of tribunals.

The apex court on September 30 set aside the LHC's June 12 verdict, accepting the ECP's appeal.

The order noted that a meeting had taken place between the LHC top judge and the CEC and the matter had been "amicably resolved" with a sufficient number of election tribunals set to be appointed/constituted immediately.

"Since the matter has been amicably resolved there is no need to decide these cases. Undoubtedly, they realized their respective constitutional and legal responsibilities and rose to the occasion to do the needful," it added.

The review petition stated that the ramifications of the SC's September 30 order extend well beyond the petitioners and paves the way for a future where executive bodies can be allowed to act with disregard for established legal principles and judicial authority.