SC resumes hearing on Punjab, KP election suo motu notice

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 28 Feb 2023

The Supreme Court (SC) resumed its hearing on the suo motu notice related to the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Tuesday (today). 

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail is hearing the case. 

The SC had taken the suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the elections of the two assemblies, on February 23, following President Arif Alvi's announcement of date of polls, a move that drew strong criticism from the government

As per the CJP, the suo motu notice had been taken to assess who was eligible to issue the date for polls and who had the constitutional responsibility of conducting elections and when.

A nine-member bench was constituted to hear the case but the bench was reconstituted after four judges of the bench recused themselves.

The judges that recused themselves were Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Yahya Afridi. 

A written order was also issued on the SC’s website in which dissenting notes of Justice Afridi, Justice Minallah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had been included.

In the previous hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the parliament has clearly written in the Elections Act, 2017, that the president can announce the date for polls.

CJP Bandial had said that the hearing will be wrapped up today.