Election petitions: Tribunals told to decide petitions in 4 months

PTI’s Jehangir Tareen had filed a petition challenging Siddique Baloch’s victory from NA-154.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has asked election tribunals to decide the election petitions within the prescribed timeframe of four months. The top court also directed the tribunals to penalise returning candidates found guilty of causing delays, by suspending their membership from the legislatures.

According an official statement issued by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday, the directions came in light of the PTI Secretary General Jehangir Tareen’s plea who had filed a petition challenging the election of Siddique Baloch from NA-154 through an election petition.

The petition argues that on grounds of possessing fake and fabricated educational qualifications as well as “widespread corrupt and illegal practices on election day,” Baloch’s membership of the National Assembly be suspended.

“The chief justice observed that this is an important order as several quarters had raised the issue of delays being faced in final disposal of election petitions pending before the election tribunals all over the country,” reads the PTI statement.

The statement says the particular election petition had been pending for almost three months before the election tribunal at Multan, with the defendant employing various tactics to delay the petition. As per the Section 67(1A) of the Representation of the People Act (1976), the election tribunal must decide the case within four months of receiving the case from the election commission.

Tareen challenged the LHC order before the Supreme Court through a Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal (CPLA) which was heard on Monday by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Jawaad Khawaja. The apex court, in its decision, held that the provisions of Section 67(1A) are mandatory in nature and failing to follow these entail penal consequences. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2013.