SC to hear plea seeking to declare 2013 polls null and void on Oct 29
Petitioner, former SC justice Mehmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, names ECP and government as respondents
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court accepted the plea of a former judge of the apex court, seeking to declare the 2013 general elections null and void, for preliminary hearing.
Retired judge of the apex court Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui had asked the court to announce fresh elections, and initiate criminal action against members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A three judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasirul Mulk, will take up the case on October 29.
The petition, which names the ECP and federal government as respondents, calls on the top court to declare the 2013 elections “without jurisdiction and without any legal affect” as well as a “nullity in the eyes of the law”.
Justice Siddiqui’s counsel Mian Allah Nawaz submitted the petition, which argues that the 2013 elections are a challenge to the “role and constitutional functions of the SC, and the court has the duty and power under Article 184(3) of the Constitution to come to the rescue of beleaguered citizens of Pakistan”.
The application adds that the applicant has been gravely affected by the general elections on account of gross illegalities, malpractices and violations committed by the ECP before May 11, 2013.
Justice Siddiqui alleges that the ECP purchased defective ink from the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories and National Database and Regulation Authority (NADRA), and supplied it to returning officers and presiding officers for use in polling stations.
The petition also questions why officials of the ECP failed to follow the “statutory pre-requisites to the electoral process.”
Justice Siddiqui said he interviewed officials of the election body, as well as carried out an inquiry into allegations of rigging in the elections, particularly during the pre-poll process.
“I observed that the ECP willingly, deliberately without hiding intentions did not perform its duties within the mandatory statutes,” said the request.
A similar petition filed by former interior minister Mian Zahid Sarfaraz was also listed for the same day.
Justice Siddiqui retired from the Supreme Court in October 2011, and was among the judges ousted on November 3, 2007, by former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
According to sources, he was close to former CJP Ifitkhar Chaudhry during his tenure.
The Supreme Court accepted the plea of a former judge of the apex court, seeking to declare the 2013 general elections null and void, for preliminary hearing.
Retired judge of the apex court Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui had asked the court to announce fresh elections, and initiate criminal action against members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A three judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasirul Mulk, will take up the case on October 29.
The petition, which names the ECP and federal government as respondents, calls on the top court to declare the 2013 elections “without jurisdiction and without any legal affect” as well as a “nullity in the eyes of the law”.
Justice Siddiqui’s counsel Mian Allah Nawaz submitted the petition, which argues that the 2013 elections are a challenge to the “role and constitutional functions of the SC, and the court has the duty and power under Article 184(3) of the Constitution to come to the rescue of beleaguered citizens of Pakistan”.
The application adds that the applicant has been gravely affected by the general elections on account of gross illegalities, malpractices and violations committed by the ECP before May 11, 2013.
Justice Siddiqui alleges that the ECP purchased defective ink from the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories and National Database and Regulation Authority (NADRA), and supplied it to returning officers and presiding officers for use in polling stations.
The petition also questions why officials of the ECP failed to follow the “statutory pre-requisites to the electoral process.”
Justice Siddiqui said he interviewed officials of the election body, as well as carried out an inquiry into allegations of rigging in the elections, particularly during the pre-poll process.
“I observed that the ECP willingly, deliberately without hiding intentions did not perform its duties within the mandatory statutes,” said the request.
A similar petition filed by former interior minister Mian Zahid Sarfaraz was also listed for the same day.
Justice Siddiqui retired from the Supreme Court in October 2011, and was among the judges ousted on November 3, 2007, by former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
According to sources, he was close to former CJP Ifitkhar Chaudhry during his tenure.