ISLAMABAD
\nThe Supreme Court of Pakistan has pointed to the flaws in the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s (ECP) advice which he sent to the president about holding elections in the country.
\nA three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial conducted the hearing on Wednesday about the ECP\u2019s plea urging the apex court to revisit its April 4 order.
\nThe CJP asked the ECP\u2019s lawyer why the same-day elections advice was not forwarded to the president. \u201cThe ECP neither informed the president about the security situation nor about the funds issue. The ECP sought more powers without saying anything about Article 218(3) or 1970 elections.
\nJustice Bandial maintained that the ECP didn\u2019t brief the president about the security measures or allocation of funds for elections. \u201cWithout mentioning the ground realities, more powers are being sought under Article 218(3),\u201d he said, adding \u201cWhen the Constitution gives powers, keep your eyes and mind open before using them.\u201d
\nStating emphatically that the Supreme Court could easily throw out the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s (ECP) review petition, Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the court instead wanted to give judgement after listening to legal arguments.
\n\u201cWe can easily say that you have missed the bus,\u201d the chief justice said, adding, \u201cHowever, we are not saying that. We want to analyse it from legal point of view before taking a decision.\u201d
\nSajeel Swati, counsel for the ECP, told the court that the commission had written a letter to the president on the court\u2019s order.
\nThe CJP told him that the ECP had not mentioned those points in the letter which it was mentioning now. \u201cThe commission had only asked the president to give date for election,\u201d he said, and asked, \u201cWhy did not the ECP give advice to the president regarding elections on a single day?\u201d
\nSimilarly, he went on to say, neither the president was conveyed anything about security and the provision of funds.
\nAddressing the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP), the CJP asked him to tell the prime minister and others not to use insulting language against the apex court judges. The CJP further said that when a seven-member bench was not the product of court\u2019s order, then why hullabaloo was created that the SC\u2019s verdict was by 4-3.
\nReacting to the government\u2019s criticism of the use of Mercedes by former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, CJP Bandial made it clear that it was police, and not the SC, which had arranged the car for Imran. \u201cBut sadly it was propagated that the apex court had arranged the car for the PTI chairman,\u201d he regretted.
\nRegretting that invoking article 184\/3 had become frequent now, the chief justice admitted this might result in mistakes. The CJP said he would seek the attorney general of Pakistan\u2019s (AGP) opinion on whether the scope of court\u2019s power of review should be curtailed or it should be expanded.
\nSpeaking on the occasion, counsel for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that the SC had reviewed its decision in the judges\u2019 case. He went on to say that the review petition in the case of 16, 000 sacked employees had been rejected, but the court invoked articles 184\/3 and 187.
\nSpeaking to the ECP\u2019s counsel, Justice Muneeb Akhtar remarked that if his contention was accepted then the apex court\u2019s rules would become null and void. \u201cIf the scope is broadened, then many several years old cases will have to be revisited,\u201d he added.
\nECP\u2019s lawyer replied that there should be time limit for filing a review petition. Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that no time limit had been given in the constitution. \u201cCan a review petition filed 20 years after the court\u2019s verdict?\u201d he questioned. The election commission\u2019s lawyer argued that laws change with the passage of time.
\nJustice Muneeb wondered how it was possible that Order 26 of the SC Rules concerning the \u2018review\u2019 was not applied completely. He added that if the Order was not applied completely, then the time limit for filing a review petition would cease to exist.
\nJustice Ijazul Ahsan said that no deadline had been given in the constitution for filing the petition. The CJP reminded the ECP\u2019s lawyer that the election commission had assured the apex court that it was ready to hold elections provided funds and security were provided. \u201cNow what is the legal status of all these points?\u201d he questioned.
\nHe added that the nine-member bench had raised some important points in its order. \u201cIt is unfortunate that instead of giving legal arguments, eyebrows were raised over the constitution of bench,\u201d he recalled. The court then adjourned hearing of the case until tomorrow, saying one of members of the bench has to attend to another case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court of Pakistan has pointed to the flaws in the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s (ECP) advice which he sent to the president about holding elections in the country. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial conducted the hearing on Wednesday about the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[292],"class_list":{"0":"post-333301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-supreme-court"},"yoast_head":"\n