MQM challenges delimitation exercise in high court
Notification issued by respondents on Nov 12 was out of their jurisdictions, says lawyer.
Notification issued by respondents on Nov 12 was out of their jurisdictions, says lawyer. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
For the first time before the Sindh High Court, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) challenged the delimitation process on the basis of the creation of new union committees in the city ahead of the local government elections.
The petition, filed on Wednesday, is likely to be taken up for hearing today [Thursday]. The MQM approached the high court through its deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar.
The election commission of Pakistan, provincial chief secretary, local government secretary, provincial census commissioner, Karachi commissioner and the deputy commissioners of Malir, West, East, Central and South districts have been cited as respondents in the petition.
Sattar said the Sindh chief secretary has illegally and without any jurisdiction legislated over the Sindh Local Government Act (SLGA) 2013. The vires of the act have been challenged by the petitioner before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on grounds, inter alia, that the said law violates Article 140-A of the Constitution.
Section-3 of the act clearly says that the population count shall be in accordance with the last preceding officially published census. The last census was held in 1998, whereby the population of Karachi was shown to be 9,393,236 with urban population of 8,875,941 and rural population 517,295. However, it excluded the cantonment areas.
His lawyer, Barrister Farogh Naseem, submitted that the SLGA 2013 was amended through the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act 2013 on November 2. In terms of section-27 of the said amendment, it is clearly provided that the population of union committees was to fall between 10,000 and 15,000. Similarly, the population of the union committees in the metropolitan corporation is between 40,000 and 50,000.
Meanwhile, section-3 of the SLGA 2013 (second amendment ordinance) was omitted. Another amendment was made to the section-15 of the SLGA 2013, whereby district councils for Karachi division were ommitted. This clearly meant that for Karachi division, only union committees could exist.
Barrister Naseem submitted that the respondents had issued a notification on November 12 in a manner which was completely out of their jurisdictions and it provided that the delimitation process for the district councils was to be considered the delimitation process for union committees.
“The said notification is illegal and against the SLGA 2013 as there is nothing in the statute which permits such a notification.”
He pleaded to the court to declare that the notification of November 12 illegal. The court was requested to restrain the respondents, their officers and agents from conducting local government elections for district Malir and district South.The court was also pleaded to direct the authorities to conduct delimitation as per the census of 1998 read with the population standards given in the SLGA 2013 for union committees.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2013.
For the first time before the Sindh High Court, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) challenged the delimitation process on the basis of the creation of new union committees in the city ahead of the local government elections.
The petition, filed on Wednesday, is likely to be taken up for hearing today [Thursday]. The MQM approached the high court through its deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar.
The election commission of Pakistan, provincial chief secretary, local government secretary, provincial census commissioner, Karachi commissioner and the deputy commissioners of Malir, West, East, Central and South districts have been cited as respondents in the petition.
Sattar said the Sindh chief secretary has illegally and without any jurisdiction legislated over the Sindh Local Government Act (SLGA) 2013. The vires of the act have been challenged by the petitioner before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on grounds, inter alia, that the said law violates Article 140-A of the Constitution.
Section-3 of the act clearly says that the population count shall be in accordance with the last preceding officially published census. The last census was held in 1998, whereby the population of Karachi was shown to be 9,393,236 with urban population of 8,875,941 and rural population 517,295. However, it excluded the cantonment areas.
His lawyer, Barrister Farogh Naseem, submitted that the SLGA 2013 was amended through the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act 2013 on November 2. In terms of section-27 of the said amendment, it is clearly provided that the population of union committees was to fall between 10,000 and 15,000. Similarly, the population of the union committees in the metropolitan corporation is between 40,000 and 50,000.
Meanwhile, section-3 of the SLGA 2013 (second amendment ordinance) was omitted. Another amendment was made to the section-15 of the SLGA 2013, whereby district councils for Karachi division were ommitted. This clearly meant that for Karachi division, only union committees could exist.
Barrister Naseem submitted that the respondents had issued a notification on November 12 in a manner which was completely out of their jurisdictions and it provided that the delimitation process for the district councils was to be considered the delimitation process for union committees.
“The said notification is illegal and against the SLGA 2013 as there is nothing in the statute which permits such a notification.”
He pleaded to the court to declare that the notification of November 12 illegal. The court was requested to restrain the respondents, their officers and agents from conducting local government elections for district Malir and district South.The court was also pleaded to direct the authorities to conduct delimitation as per the census of 1998 read with the population standards given in the SLGA 2013 for union committees.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2013.