Oath taking of Hamza Shehbaz: LHC asks PTI’s counsel to amend appeals

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court bench on Tuesday asked the counsel of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to amend the appeals as court wants to hear the point of view of the president of Pakistan and governor of Punjab in appeals against the decisions of two different benches regarding oath taking of Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz.

The bench asked the petitioners’ counsel to add the president of Pakistan and the governor Punjab in the list of the respondents rose till Wednesday (today).

Earlier, the petitioners’ counsel argued that the court had no jurisdiction to issue directions to the president and the governor. They said the order issued to the speaker of the national assembly to administer oath to the chief minister was also beyond the jurisdiction of the court.

They said the appellants had not been given an opportunity of hearing by the court while issuing the impugned orders.

Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti of the LHC also adjourned petitions of PTI and PML-Q against the election of Hamza Shehbaz as the chief minister.

Earlier, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar continued his arguments on behalf of the PML-Q saying under Article 130(4) of the Constitution a Chief Minister who did not have the majority of the votes of MPAs, was a ‘usurper’ and could not continue with the office.

He argued that the judgment of the Supreme Court declaring that the votes of the defectors could not be counted, shall apply retrospectively to the election of the Chief Minister.

“Once the Supreme Court interprets a constitutional provision or a law, it does not make new law but rather declares what the law is,” he added.

He said the Supreme Court in a number of judgments held that its judgment interpreting a law applies retrospectively from the date the law was made and applies to all events, whether the cause of action occurred before the interpretation of the law or after it.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022