Supreme Court Suspends Peshawar High Court Decision on Special Seats

The Attorney General and Election Commission officials were present during the court proceedings.

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the Supreme Court has intervened in the case concerning the allocation of special seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council, overturning a decision by the Peshawar High Court. Headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, a three-member bench comprising Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Ata Manullah heard arguments from both sides.

The issue arose when women candidates nominated by other parties objected to the allocation of seats reserved for them on the council. They argued that Article 51 of the constitution allows a case to be heard by a five-member bench. The federal government also raised objections to the three-member bench.

Additional Attorney General Amir Rahman asserted that only the larger bench could hear appeals. However, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah clarified that objections to the bench were premature as it was still in the initial stages. He emphasized that any bench, including a two-member bench, could hear the case if appeals were deemed admissible.

Faisal Siddiqui, representing the Sunni Ittehad Council, presented arguments, citing PTI’s elected members who opted to join the council. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah questioned whether these seven hopefuls were currently part of the National Assembly.

Justice Ata Manullah queried if PTI was a registered political party, to which Siddiqui affirmed its status. However, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah contended that being a registered political party did not necessarily entail participation in elections.

Regarding the timeframe for members to join a political party after winning as independents, Siddiqui stated that they had three days to do so. Justice Ata Manullah questioned whether candidates would be deprived of their right to representation if their party lacked an election symbol.

Siddiqui argued that a political party could transform into a parliamentary one even without contesting elections, by absorbing independent winners. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah emphasized that the allocation of specific seats between political parties adhered to a specific formula based on their electoral victories.

Siddiqui further clarified that although the Jamaat-e-Islami holds seven general seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, it was allocated ten special seats, while the PPP received six out of its four general seats, and the PML-N got eight out of its six general seats.

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Justice Mansoor Ali Shah directed questions to the federal government’s representative, inquiring whether the Sunni Ittehad Council was denied seats solely because it did not apply. PTI’s women candidates also appeared before the Supreme Court.

The Attorney General and Election Commission officials were present during the court proceedings. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah reiterated that they were accepting the case for hearing and suspending the decisions of the Election Commission and High Court but within limits. He emphasized that the mandate given by the public should be accurately represented in parliament.

The Election Commission clarified that seats had been allocated once and the redistribution was not a matter to reconsider. Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar advised reviewing the Election Commission’s directive.

Justice Ata Manullah added that the distribution of seats should reflect the proportion of wins by each party. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stressed that redistributing seats was not against the principle of proportionality.

In conclusion, he reminded everyone that there were additional facts to consider, such as the ability of a party to contest elections even after losing its electoral symbol.