Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the appeal of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the decision of Lahore High Court (LHC) about the formation of election tribunals in Punjab.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa heard the appeal.

During the course of proceedings, Chief Justice Isa observed that the number of election tribunals depended on the number of cases. It would unfair if the number of judges were less than that of cases.

The court did not know that how many election cases were pending in Balochistan or Punjab province, he added. The CJP said that the Commission should ensure the establishment of the rest of the tribunals within a week. Addressing Salman Akram Raja, the chief justice asked whether he needed two judges for the tribunal and whether he was supporting the LHC’s previous decision.

Justice Aqeel Abbasi remarked that as per the ECP’s reply, the issue of election tribunals had been resolved in consultation with the LHC.

The ECP’s lawyer said that the LHC chief justice had maintained four tribunals while the four new ones would be set up by the Commission.

Chief Justice Isa observed that the ECP’s job was to conduct elections, while it was the high court which would settle a dispute if any.

He directed the commission to start working on the notification of tribunals from today. Later, the court reserved its verdict on the plea.