SHC recalls stay, allows tribunals’ to proceed against CM
Several candidates had gone to the high court to seek stay against proceedings.
KARACHI:
The Sindh High Court (SHC) recalled on Monday its months-long interlocutory stay against the proceedings initiated before the election tribunals against the victory of Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and other candidates in the May 2013 general elections.
A larger bench, comprising justices Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Syed Muhammad Farooq Shah, passed this order while hearing several petitions against the tribunals' proceedings.
Following the SHC ruling, all those orders passed by the election tribunals, including those for the verification of thumb impression of voters on the ballots polled in the constituencies won by Qaim Ali Shah and others, would come into effect, said the lawyers.
In the petitions, the returned candidates had approached the high court, pleading to suspend or stay the tribunals' proceedings into the allegations of rigging by the losing candidates.
PS-29 and NA-215
One of the petitions was filed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders, Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Nawab Wassan. Both had obtained a stay against the order of the tribunal, which had directed the National Database and Registration Authority to verify thumb impressions of voters on the ballots polled in the constituencies of PS-29, won by Shah, and NA-215, from where Wassan was the returned candidate.
Larger bench
As the number of petitions against the tribunals' proceedings increased, the SHC chief justice constituted a larger bench to decide on the constitutional question of whether an interlocutory order made by the election tribunal could be challenged before the high court.
After a joint hearing of the petitions on May 27, the larger bench had ruled that its stay orders against the tribunals' proceedings would stand vacated by June 23 if the Supreme Court did not pass any order regarding the high court's jurisdictions to entertain such pleas.
On June 25, the larger bench had to extend the stay, as no order was made by the apex court.
During Monday's hearing, lawyers Farooq H Naek and others representing CM Qaim Ali Shah and others said that their appeals filed before the Supreme Court had not yet been listed for hearing. They requested the bench to further extend the stay.
The lawyers, appearing on behalf of the losing candidates, however, opposed the plea. "We have once again seen our order of May 26, 2014," the judges remarked. "In view of what has been stated therein and the position that applies as of today in this court, that is the decision of the full bench, whereby it held that constitutional petitions against the interlocutory orders of the election tribunals were not maintainable in the high court, still holds field, therefore we are not inclined to extend the interim arrangement," the judges said in the order.
"It is clarified that, as of today, there are no longer any interim orders in the field with respect to any of the petitions that are listed today," ruled Justice Munib Akhtar, head of the bench. "All and any interim orders of whatever date in all of these petitions must be deemed recalled and vacated," the large bench ruled. The judges added: "Therefore, the election tribunals may proceed to deal with the matters before them in accordance with the law."
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2014.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) recalled on Monday its months-long interlocutory stay against the proceedings initiated before the election tribunals against the victory of Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and other candidates in the May 2013 general elections.
A larger bench, comprising justices Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Syed Muhammad Farooq Shah, passed this order while hearing several petitions against the tribunals' proceedings.
Following the SHC ruling, all those orders passed by the election tribunals, including those for the verification of thumb impression of voters on the ballots polled in the constituencies won by Qaim Ali Shah and others, would come into effect, said the lawyers.
In the petitions, the returned candidates had approached the high court, pleading to suspend or stay the tribunals' proceedings into the allegations of rigging by the losing candidates.
PS-29 and NA-215
One of the petitions was filed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders, Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Nawab Wassan. Both had obtained a stay against the order of the tribunal, which had directed the National Database and Registration Authority to verify thumb impressions of voters on the ballots polled in the constituencies of PS-29, won by Shah, and NA-215, from where Wassan was the returned candidate.
Larger bench
As the number of petitions against the tribunals' proceedings increased, the SHC chief justice constituted a larger bench to decide on the constitutional question of whether an interlocutory order made by the election tribunal could be challenged before the high court.
After a joint hearing of the petitions on May 27, the larger bench had ruled that its stay orders against the tribunals' proceedings would stand vacated by June 23 if the Supreme Court did not pass any order regarding the high court's jurisdictions to entertain such pleas.
On June 25, the larger bench had to extend the stay, as no order was made by the apex court.
During Monday's hearing, lawyers Farooq H Naek and others representing CM Qaim Ali Shah and others said that their appeals filed before the Supreme Court had not yet been listed for hearing. They requested the bench to further extend the stay.
The lawyers, appearing on behalf of the losing candidates, however, opposed the plea. "We have once again seen our order of May 26, 2014," the judges remarked. "In view of what has been stated therein and the position that applies as of today in this court, that is the decision of the full bench, whereby it held that constitutional petitions against the interlocutory orders of the election tribunals were not maintainable in the high court, still holds field, therefore we are not inclined to extend the interim arrangement," the judges said in the order.
"It is clarified that, as of today, there are no longer any interim orders in the field with respect to any of the petitions that are listed today," ruled Justice Munib Akhtar, head of the bench. "All and any interim orders of whatever date in all of these petitions must be deemed recalled and vacated," the large bench ruled. The judges added: "Therefore, the election tribunals may proceed to deal with the matters before them in accordance with the law."
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2014.