ISLAMABAD – Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday said that the apex court would not tolerate the violation of the constitution.
A nine-member bench of the SC, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, heard the suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the elections of Punjab and KP assemblies.
Apart from Justice Minallah and CJP Bandial, the bench includes Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
At the outset of the hearing, the court observed that the authority for giving the date of the elections after the dissolution of the assembly needs clarification.
“Supreme Court won’t tolerate the violation of Constitution,” CJP Bandial remarked, adding that he was issuing a notice to the attorney general for Pakistan.
He said that the apex court wants to ensure that elections are held as per the Constitution.
The CJP observed that the court had to hear three matters i.e, the timeframe of 90 days for elections under Article 224, president’s authority to announce date of polls, and that who had the authority to announce the date.
At this, Barrister Ali Zafar interjected by saying that they wanted to bring some matters regarding the president on record.
“Violation of Constitution won’t be tolerated under any circumstances,” CJP Bandial said, adding that the proceedings will not be prolonged due to lack of time.
The chief justice then directed the parties to prepare their arguments for the next hearing on Monday.
He said that the court intended to hear all the parties.
Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the Supreme Court (SC) raised questions on the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.
During the hearing, Justice Athar Minallah remarked that it is also to be seen whether provincial assemblies were dissolved as per the Constitution or not.
Ahead of the hearing, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has raised objections over the formation of the bench.
“The Supreme Court must include nine senior most judges in the bench,” the PBC said, adding Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood should be added in the bench.
The addition of these two judges will give an impression of impartiality on the bench.
“We expect that Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi would voluntarily recuse himself from the bench,” said the PBC.
