ECP faces contempt of court notices in PTI’s Symbol dispute
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has observed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is a constitutional body and no one can interfere in its domain.
“Supreme Court will not interfere in the domain of the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, if ECP commits any unconstitutional act then the court can look into it,” the top judge added.
The CJP passed these remarks during a hearing of a ECP’s petition against the Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict restoring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) electoral symbol — bat.
A three-member bench of the apex court led by CJP Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarat Hilali took up the plea.
During today’s hearing, Hamid Khan appeared as the PTI counsel while Makhdoom Ali Khan was present as the ECP lawyer.
The proceedings of the case are being broadcast live on the SC website and YouTube channel.
Responding to PTI counsel Hamid Khan’s arguments, Justice Isa noted that there was a “very clear line of demarcation” between the functions of a constitutional and a statutory body.
He remarked, “If they’re (ECP) doing their job, we won’t take over their job [or] how to do it [or] how better to do it.”
At the outset of the hearing, the ECP counsel came to the rostrum. When CJP Isa asked Makhdoom whether the PHC’s written order had been issued or not, the latter replied that it had not been.
The lawyer then read out the PHC order that restored the PTI’s ‘bat’ symbol. He said that the ECP had not yet received “any notice” of the PHC order, to which the chief justice said, “I have not read the case file either.”
The top judge asked Makhdoom when he would be ready to present the case, at which the counsel urged the SC to adjourn the hearing till Monday. Makhdoom further said that the political parties would be allotted electoral symbols tomorrow.
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Makhdoom recalled that the PTI was supposed to hold its intra-party polls in 2022 and that the electoral watchdog issued a notice to the PTI for not holding the intra-party polls according to its party constitution.
Here, the CJP observed that to adjourn the hearing till Monday, the PHC’s recent verdict would have to be suspended, adding that the apex court was ready to hear the case on Saturday and Sunday as well. The ECP lawyer then sought time till tomorrow to prepare for the case.
While,
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finds itself at the center of a legal battle as notices for contempt of court are issued in response to a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) held a hearing on PTI’s contempt plea, appointing a two-member bench comprised of Justice Shakeel Ahmed and Justice Waqar Ahmed.
The court has called for responses from all parties involved, including the ECP, with a deadline set for January 16. The contempt petition alleges the ECP’s failure to restore PTI’s election symbol and promptly upload the certificate to its website, in violation of court orders.
PTI contends that, despite court directives, the ECP has not issued the bat symbol certificate to PTI, constituting contempt of court.
Simultaneously, the ECP has appealed to the Supreme Court against granting the bat symbol to PTI. The appeal challenges the PHC’s decision, arguing that PTI did not conduct inter-party elections under the Election Act.
The ECP asserts that the PHC’s decision goes against the Constitution and the law, urging the annulment of the ruling. In response to this development, an important meeting was convened by the ECP officials, with four commission members and the special secretary in attendance.
ECP’s Law Wing briefed the commission on legal aspects related to the PHC’s decision
