Supreme Court declares some clauses of Hisbah Bill ultra vires

The Supreme Court has told the President that certain clauses of the Hisbah Bill passed by the Frontier Assembly clashed with the Constitution and the provincial governor was not bound to sign it in its present form into a law on the statute.
Announcing its advisory determination on a presidential reference, the nine-member constitutional bench of the nation's highest judicial forum held parts of five sections of the bill offensive to the Constitution.
Within minutes of the announcement made by the Supreme Court here on Thursday, the MMA government announced in Peshawar that it will bring a new bill on the subject before the assembly where it commands a majority.
The Supreme Court announced its conclusions within three hours after the NWFP's Counsel Khalid Anwer and three advocates general had concluded their arguments on the presidential reference filed some 20 days ago. In the brief submissions, the advocate general of the NWFP had sided with Khalid Anwer, while that of the Sindh and the Punjab supported the attorney general. The law officer of the Balochistan government where a coalition of the PML and MMA rules the province was not present in the court.
The regular hearing had opened on Monday with an address by Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan that took two days and elucidation of the provincial government's stand on Wednesday and Thursday.
The sections disapproved by the Supreme Court relate to the appointments of Mohtasibs at provincial, district, tehsil levels, a Hisbah police force and the powers of these officials for enforcement of Shariah edicts and laws relating to minorities, women, children and animals and control the prices and weight and measures.
A detailed advisory on the reference is expected to follow the summary recommendations announced on Thursday.
The text of the short advisory note authored by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said: "For the reasons to be recorded later in our considered opinion, Section 10 (B) (C) (D), Section 12 (A) (B) and (C), Section 23 (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) (7) (12) (14) and (27), Section 25 (1) and (2) and Section 28 of the Hasba Bill, 2005 passed by the Provincial Assembly of NWFP are ultra vires of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. Therefore, the Governor of the Province of NWFP may not assent to the "Hasba Bill" in its present form."