Daily Times

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday suspended the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the notification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) concerning the establishment of election tribunals in Punjab.

Additionally, the court dismissed PTI leader Niazullah Niazi’s objection to the inclusion of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa in the larger bench in the election tribunal case. A five-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Isa, convened to hear the Election Commission’s appeal against the Lahore High Court’s decision on forming election tribunals.The hearing, however, commenced with a heated exchange between CJ Isa and PTI lawyer Niazullah Niazi. Niazi objected to the inclusion of the CJ in the bench, a motion swiftly dismissed by Chief Justice Isa.

“Why not refer Niazullah Niazi’s case to the Pakistan Bar Council? Are we here to be insulted? Enough is enough,” CJ Isa remarked adding, “We are aware of your political affiliations and will not tolerate continued contempt of the judiciary. This must end.”

CJ Isa emphasised that the authority to form benches now lies with the Practice and Procedure Committee, marking an end to the era when the CJ had that prerogative.

Niazi, alluding to Imran Khan, stated, “The one in jail objects that his election symbol was taken away.” In response, CJ remarked, “We provided video link facilities from jail, and no objections were raised at that time. Ali Zafar did not raise any objections in the intra-party election case either. This defamation of institutions must stop. Headlines in newspapers question how the bench was formed. The era of popular decisions is over; now, the committee has the authority to form benches.” Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail further added, “Courts do not operate based on public wishes.”

CJ Isa then asked the ECP lawyer regarding how many tribunals were needed. The lawyer replied, “We need nine judges. We have no objection to consultations, but there should be a balance between dictation and consultation.”

Justice Aqeel Abbasi inquired about the meaning of balance, suggesting that two judges could be chosen by the ECP and two by the High Court. The lawyer emphasized the need for meaningful consultation and requested the suspension of the High Court’s decision to facilitate this process. The Supreme Court suspended both the Lahore High Court’s single bench decision to form eight election tribunals and the ECP’s notification dated April 26.

The court ordered that meaningful consultations between the CJ of the LHC and the Election Commissioner take place following the appointment of the new Chief Justice. The SC then adjourned the hearing for an infinite period.

Last month, a two-member SC bench referred a plea about election tribunals to the Practice and Procedure Committee for the formation of a larger bench and sought a record of the correspondence between the four high courts and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Following this the ECP challenged the appointment of eight election tribunals by the LHC, declaring its decision to boycott the proceedings of these “unconstitutional” tribunals.