Islamabad (Web Desk): Five judges of the Supreme Court (SC), instead of nine -member bench, resumed hearing the suo motu case regarding the delay in election dates in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP).
The bench was reconstituted after Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Yahya Afridi recused themselves from hearing the case.
Later, a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail resumed the hearing.
A written order was 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.
As the proceedings commenced, CJ Bandial said that the court "wishes to run things as per the constitution".
"The court will continue to hear the case for the sake of interpretation of the constitution", the CJP said adding that the bench was keen to complete proceedings as early as possible.
The court then directed Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for the speakers of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, to argue whether the court should hear the case or not.
“Can the court hear this case or not? In any situation, the case has to be completed tomorrow,” said the CJP.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawyer Advocate Farooq Naek reminded the court that a request for the constitution of a full bench in the case was still pending.
Upon this, the CJP assured him that the request would be heard as well.
Earlier, the main parties of the coalition government had requested the SC to form a full court bench to hear the suo motu notice.
During Friday’s hearing, the main parties of the coalition government requested the SC to form a full court bench to hear the suo motu notice.
Three main parties of the coalition government, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) requested the court to form a full court bench.
On February 22, CJP Umar Ata Bandial took a suo moto notice over the delay in the election of two provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP.
The development came days after President Dr Arif Alvi fixed April 9 as the date for elections to the provincial assemblies, a move condemned by the government as “unconstitutional and illegal”.
As per the the apex court’s statement, the bench will assess who is eligible to issue the date for polls, the constitutional responsibility of the federation and provinces, and who will fulfil the constitutional responsibility of conducting elections and when.
The top court's SC statement said that that it is the government’s responsibility to conduct elections in Punjab and KP according to the Constitution.