Cricket bat symbol case: PTI asks SC Court to set aside SC judgment

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has prayed to the Supreme Court to set aside the SC judgment dated 13-01-24 and order dated 21-10-24 passed in the “cricket bat” symbol case.

The PTI, on Tuesday, filed a curative review petition under Article 188 read with Article 187 of the Constitution. It submitted that the decision has been rendered by a biased judge is a decision without jurisdiction and void, and per icuriam judgment is no judgment at all.

It submitted that Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Mussarat Hilali, who were part of three-judge bench, headed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan QaziFaez Isa, have signed the judgment and the order therefore also disqualified themselves from hearing the instant petition.

The petitioner asked the Supreme Court to adjudicate upon the several questions of great public importance for the enforcement of fundamental rights of the general public, recognised by the Court in catena of judgments.

The petitioner stated that advocate Hamid Khan, who represented the PTI, argued before the bench which heard review petition that the observations recorded in the Reserved Seats judgment in Para 114 bars the ECP to file appeals and become litigant in proceedings relating to its own quasi-judicial orders. He also brought to the notice of the bench that the judgment dated 13-01-24 was per incuriam having been passed in violation of all these reasons warranted acceptance of the PTI review petition. In the alternative, Hamid Khan prayed that review petition be placed before the Committee since the matter was one of constitutional importance. However, the bench refused to refer the matter to the Committee despite the clear dictates of the law.

The petitioner argued that the review bench instead passed a non-speaking order dismissing the PTI’s review petition. The head of the bench concealed the allegation of bias in the order dated 21-10-24. It further contended that the review petition was filed on 06-02-24 but it was not fixed for hearing for more than eight months. It was fixed on 11-10-24, two weeks before the retirement of head of the bench (ex-CJP Qazi Faez). It is obvious that former Chief Justice wanted to dismiss the review petition being the last unfinished item of his agenda of his animosity and bias against the petitioner.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024