Elections delay case: SC nullifies ECP decision, orders to hold polls in Punjab on May 14
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The three-member bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday nullified the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), ordering to hold the elections in Punjab on May 14.
In the short verdict, the court ordered the federal government to provide funds to the ECP until April 10. The court ruled that 13 days wasted due to the illegal decision of the ECP.
"The constitution does not allow to take the elections beyond 90 days. The law and the constitution does not allow the ECP to extend the date for the elections. The court will issue an appropriate order if the funds are not released," the SC ruled. The detailed judgement will be issued shortly.
The SC restored the election schedule with slight changes. The last date for submitting the appeals against the decision of the returning officer will be April 10. The election tribunals will decide on the appeals on April 17. The candidates' final lists will be issued on April 18, while the election symbols will be allotted on April 20.
However, the matter of elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain sub judice.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defence submitted its report to the Supreme Court through Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan detailing the availability of security personnel for election duties.
On Monday, the SC had reserved the verdict. During the hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had advised to deduct the salaries of the government employees by five percent. He remarked that the election will always be stopped on the pretext of financial constraints if an example is set.
"If the army is busy, then help can be sought from the Navy and the Air Force," he remarked.
Justice Ejazul Ahsan observed the Supreme Court order is implemented on all. "How can the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) extend the election date?" he questioned. At this, the attorney general told court that ECP has the power to extend the date.
The chief justice remarked that the law does not allow anyone to extend the election date, saying that only the court can do so. "Which law binds the court to issue the order of the court? Do you consider the verdict of the four judges as the judicial order?. Whether someone has power to form a bench except the chief justice if we accept the only verdict of the four judges?" he queried.
The attorney general contended that the March 1 verdict was also issued by the Supreme Court. "The four judges rejected the applications and issued the detailed verdict," he added. The chief justice observed that they had discussed this point. "Justice Yahya Afridi rejected the applications, but Justice Athar Minallah did not reject them," he remarked.
Earlier, the three-member bench refused to hear the government counsels and ruled that they object to the bench on one side and become part of the court proceedings on the other side. Farooq H Naik, the government counsel, contended that they have reservations about the maintainability of the applications as well as the domain of the bench.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that the government cannot boycott the proceedings. Akram Sheikh contended that the counsels can present the arguments till their withdrawal from the case.
