ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Supreme Court (SC) has adjourned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intra-party election review case hearing until October 21.
A three-member special bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, along with Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Mussart Hilali heard the case today.
No PTI lawyer including advocate in-record were appeared in the case hearing today. PTI counsel Hamid Khan filed an application for exemption from appearance in the case hearing and adjournment of hearing.
The court remarked that request for adjournment of hearing was made on family committments but no family reasons were disclosed.
The adjournment request could only be made on health and death reasons, the court mentioned. "Seeking adjournment is the lame excuse of PTI to postpone case," CJP Isa remarked.
The court stated that services of other lawyer could be taken in case of absence from hearing under Practice and Procedure Act Clause 6.
CJ remarked that the case was being adjourned to ensure justice not on the ground of request for adjournment. However, Justice Hilali opposed the adjournement of the case hearing, saying, PTI shouldn't act such way in the SC.
It is pertinent to note that the court had already issued notices to the respondents in the case.
PTI lawyer, Hamid Khan filed an application to postpone the hearing of the case for his unavailability yesterday.
The three-member bench pronounced the verdict unanimously on Jan 13, 2024 annulling the Peshawar High Court (PHC) decision.
The SC accepted the ECP petition and declared that the PTI application in the PHC was inadmissible.
The court barred the PTI from the electoral symbol ‘bat’ for the general election on the grounds of intra-party election.
SC JUDGEMENT
A three-member bench, led by CJP Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, unanimously reached this decision in response to an appeal filed by the ECP contesting a PHC ruling of Jan 10, 2024, concerning PTI's intra-party polls and election symbol.
In the order, the court stated that the judges "do not agree with the learned judges [of the PHC] that the ECP did not have 'any jurisdiction to question or adjudicate the intra-party elections of a political party'."
It stated that accepting any such interpretation would render all provisions in the Election Act, 2017, that require the holding of intra party elections "illusory and of no consequence and be redundant".
PHC DECISION
PHC restored the decision to allow the embattled PTI to have bat as its election symbol. The decision means the court has undone the ECP’s order stripping the PTI of bat.
The court announced the verdict moments after it reserved it on PTI petitions against rejection of intra-party elections by the ECP and withdrawal of bat as its election symbol.
Declaring as unconstitutional the ECP’s decision of revoking the ‘bat’ electoral symbol and rejecting its intra-party polls, the court directed the electoral body to hand the PTI its iconic ‘bat’ symbol back and upload the certificate of internal elections on its website.
“The PTI is entitled to ‘bat’ and should be given the same as its electoral symbol,” the PHC ruled.
The verdict was announced by the division bench, comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed Arshad Ali, on a petition filed by PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali and six other leaders requesting the court to declare the ECP order as illegal and without jurisdiction.