Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday overruled the objection raised by Attorney General for Pakistan Usman Awan about the bench listening to the PTI’s petition as a “technical point” to be raised in a separate software.The apex courtroom resumed listening to on a PTI petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s selection to postpone the election to the Punjab Assembly until October 8.
A 5-member large bench, headed by using the leader justice, and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail is seized with the problem.
“Elections are vital for democracy … don’t destroy the problem on technical grounds,” the leader justice told the AGP. “The Supreme Court’s March 1 order has already been carried out. Don’t raise this rely or present it in courtroom once more.”
At the outset of the listening to, the chief justice welcomed General of Pakistan (AGP) Usman Awan and stated that the courtroom regarded forward to receiving help for him.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail on Monday had solid doubt on the judgement surpassed down in the March 1 suo motu concerning elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, saying that the court cases stood brushed off with the aid of a majority of four-3, and contended that the leader justice of Pakistan did no longer have the strength to restructure benches without the consent of the respective judges.
The attorney wellknown, whilst citing the dissenting notes of brother judges, wondered the maintainability of the petition. He argued that the problem associated with the election have to be referred to the Lahore High Court after apex courtroom judges issued their special opinion in which they held that the earlier suo motu inside the depend was brushed off 4:3.
He said that the LHC had no longer given the president the authority to announce the election date. The AGP additionally asked the court docket to represent a complete bench to adjudicate the case.
However, the leader justice Bandial held that the opinion expressed by way of the 2 judges turned into no longer applicable in the instantaneous be counted.
“If the decision turned into 3:four, then the ‘breached’ orders do now not exist,” spoke back the legal professional general. “In truth, if there had been no court docket orders, then the president had no authority to offer an election date even,” he added, urging the court to first settle the issue of Supreme court’s March 1 orders.
The chief justice observed that the AGP’s arguments had been based totally on a “technical point” even as the bench turned into seeing the question raised within the software.
He also asked the AGP to chorus from “complicating” the problem via asking questions that could delay the lawsuits.
The chief justice asked Awan to raise such factors in a separate software, pronouncing that the problem earlier than the court become now not about “the fixing of the election date; as an alternative the postponement of the election date”.
Moreover, Justice Manokhail pointed out that “the range of judges [who issued] the March 1 judgement is Supreme Court’s internal rely”.
Reacting to the comment, the chief justice thanked Justice Mandokhail for “clearing the matter”.Tuesday’s intending become more often than not consumed by way of the question whether or not the ECP as a constitutional body mandated to alter the election date and that too past the ninety-day restrict on its own.
On the problem, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar maintained that the ECP is unbiased of all orders. “We had said it on the primary day, the verdict is three-4,” said the minister as he reached the SC premises, “the ECP become simply doing its job as in keeping with Article 218(three)”.
The chief justice observed that prima facie the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) “has no authority to increase election date”.
The leader justice observed that the existing case became a very special count wherein, the apex courtroom changed into examining whether the ECP had the authority to postpone the election date.
