Election delay case: SC rejects plea to form full court, adjourns case until Monday

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the plea to from a full court to hear the case regarding the delay in the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjourned the case until Monday.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that the court will take a pause for some days if the government and the opposition hold dialogues.

"The court will play its constitutional role if the dialogues are not held. We hope that Monday will dawn will bring good news," he observed.

Earlier, the four-member bench formed to hear the case again dissolved. Later, a three-member new bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial was formed. Justice Ejazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar are its members.

In his dissenting note, Justice Jamal Mandokhail said that the court order was not written in the court and no consultation was held on it. "There is need to pay attention to the verdict of Justice Qazi Faez Isa. On Thursday, Justice Aminuddin had recused himself from the case. As a result, the five-member bench was dissolved.

Meanwhile, Justice Yahya Afridi issued the detailed note in the case. He wrote that the matter is sub judice in the Lahore and Peshawar high courts. He said that the SC had already ruled that it cannot intervene in a matter already present in the high court.

He observed that the suo motu and the constitutional pleas are non-maintainable. "I leave the matter of remaining in the bench to the chief justice," he added.