ISLAMABAD
\nChief Justice Faez Isa on Monday wondered how a person could still remain disqualified for life after completing the sentence and added that the Supreme Court had two different opinions on lifetime disqualification.
\nThe remarks came during the hearing of a case heard by a Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice, which also comprised Justice Athar Minallah, which pertains to the lifetime disqualification of Sardar Meer Badshah Qaisrani \u2013 a former member of Punjab Assembly \u2013 before the 2018 elections.
\nChief Justice Isa asked the additional attorney general about the federal government\u2019s stance on lifetime disqualification, to which he replied that the Section 232 of Election Act was above the Supreme Court judgement, fixing the disqualification period at five years.
\nAs a result, the country\u2019s top judge took notice of the contradiction between the Supreme Court\u2019s judgement on lifetime disqualification and the amendment made in the Election Act by parliament during the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government.
\nThe Supreme Court issued notices to the attorney general and the provincial advocate generals while making it clear that the matter under review would not be used as pretext to delay the general elections scheduled for Feb 8.
\nIt also sent the question of lifetime disqualification to the three-member committee, of which the chief justice and two senior most judges are members, for the formation of a larger bench to decide the matter.
\nCiting the reasons behind the orders, the Supreme Court noted that the confusion on whether to follow the Election Act or the Supreme judgement was damaging to democracy and would affect the decision-making of officials and tribunals overseeing the upcoming elections.
\nThe Supreme Court said the next hearing of the matter under review currently would be held next month \u2013 January 2014 \u2013 and ordered that the notice taken in connection with the present case should be published in the country\u2019s top two English dailies.
\nMeanwhile, the latest developments in the apex court can have far-reaching effects on Pakistan\u2019s politics as three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is a main victim of lifetime disqualification.
\nHowever, he has already been acquitted in the Avenfield case and the Islamabad High Court is expected to soon complete the hearing of Al-Azizia reference, as the elder Sharif wants a clean chit to contest the upcoming elections on the basis of his innocence and being wrongly convicted in 2017.
\nBut the notice taken by the chief justice and the subsequent orders leading to a larger bench to make a decision on lifetime disqualification will certainly settle a burning political issue once for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Chief Justice Faez Isa on Monday wondered how a person could still remain disqualified for life after completing the sentence and added that the Supreme Court had two different opinions on lifetime disqualification. The remarks came during the hearing of a case heard by a Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-373702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n