ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N), on Wednesday, moved an Intra Court Appeal (ICA) before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against a single bench’s verdict to turn down a plea challenging the presidential reference, which says that seat of a member of parliament would become vacant if he fails to take oath within 60 days.
A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah had dismissed the petition filed by the PML-N through its Parliamentary Party Leader in the Senate.
The PML-N adopted in its ICA that the impugned order of the single bench of IHC is liable to be set aside for ignoring patent illegality through which the executive has sought to push through the impugned ordinance.
It added, “None of the prerequisites allowing for the promulgation of the Ordinance are met in the instant case. The due process required before promulgation of impugned Ordinance, mandated explicitly by Article 89, was blatantly discarded.”
“Nevertheless, the learned single judge, in the impugned order, refused to acknowledge that the promulgation of the impugned Ordinance was riddled with procedural impropriety, only upon the basis that the impugned Ordinance’s end goal was – supposedly – a noble attempt at ensuring that no constituency goes unrepresented,” said the ICA.
It maintained that it is settled law that courts shall intervene whenever executive action suffers from illegality, irregularity or procedural impropriety.
Therefore, the PML-N prayed before the court to set aside the IHC single bench’s order and declare the impugned Ordinance de-seating a member of Parliament is ultra vires the Constitution and is tantamount to amending the Constitution.
The IHC single bench verdict stated that despite having majority, if the PML-N and other opposition parties do not disapprove the Amendment Ordinance, 2021, then this Court has no reason to interfere and thus, usurp the constitutional authority vested in the forums representing the people of Pakistan.
Justice Minallah said, “Moreover, a plain reading of the inserted section 72A in the Election Act, 2017 through the Amendment Ordinance, 2021, persuades this Court that it is in public interest because it is intended to ensure that no elected office remains vacant and the electorate unrepresented for an indefinite period. Any interference by this Court would be contrary to public interest and the guaranteed fundamental rights of the people.”
He noted, “For the foregoing reasons, this Court is not inclined to exercise its extraordinary discretionary jurisdiction vested under Article 199 of the Constitution and consequently the petition is accordingly dismissed.”
The IHC chief justice added, “This Court expects that the Petitioner Party and all other political parties having representation will endeavour to strengthen the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) by resolving the political disputes in accordance with the constitutional provisions and the principles of democracy. It is further expected that they will show restraint in unnecessarily involving the judicial branch of the State to resolve disputes having political content.”
In this matter, the PML-N invoked the jurisdiction of the court challenging the vires of the Election (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, which was notified in the official gazette on September 3, 2021.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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