ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday filed an Intra-Court Appeal (ICA) before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), challenging the result of the election for the chairman Senate.

Gilani filed his ICA against the IHC single bench’s verdict, wherein, it had turned down the PPP leader’s petition challenging the result of the election for the chairman Senate.

The appeal filed by Gilani’s counsel prayed before the court that the single bench of the IHC did not take into account “complete facts” during the proceedings of the case.

He added that “illegal activities” can be interpreted by the courts, whereas, it was the job of the court to provide compensation for illegality and in such cases the court has to check the intention of the voter.

Gilani contended: “The judge erred in failing to appreciate that the presiding officer at that particular time was not conducting the proceedings in the House, he was a nominated officer of the President for the sole purpose of conducting the election to the office of Chairman Senate.”

“The proceedings of the House envisaged in the Constitution are proceedings comprising of legislative and deliberative functions of either Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Senate and National Assembly) and not to executive functions which the presiding officer at that time was performing.

“The court is requested to accept the intra-court appeal and the single bench’s decision be rejected”.

Earlier, a single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah had rejected his petition by declaring the same non-maintainable after hearing the arguments.

The IHC bench had observed in the judgment that it is the case of the petitioner that he was a joint candidate of the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Alliance) which commands a majority in the Senate of Pakistan and that he ought to have been declared as a returned candidate because of the numerical strength and the petitioner asserted that, as a joint candidate of the PDM, he has the support of the majority of the worthy members of the Senate.

The court noted that it is thus, obvious that the majority cannot only remove respondent no.6 (Sadiq Sanjrani) but, simultaneously, elect the petitioner to the office of the Chairman.

“If that is the case, then a democratic and adequate constitutional remedy is available to the petitioner,” Justice Minallah had maintained.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

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