ISLAMABAD: A 4-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandial, will today rehear the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the delay in elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
The hearing is expected to begin at 11:30 am.
The Supreme Court is hearing PTI’s appeal against the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the elections in both provinces from Monday.
Initially, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court was hearing the case.
The original bench included Chief Justice Bandial, Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
However, the bench was dissolved on Thursday after Justice Khan recused himself from the case after the Supreme Court order stayed the proceedings under Article 184(3).
A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Qazi Faiz Isa on Wednesday adjourned cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution pending amendments to the Supreme Court Rules, 1980 regarding discretionary powers of the Chief Justice to constitute benches. Ordered.
Justice Khan concurred with Justice Isa while Justice Shahid Waheed ruled 2-1 in the self-notice case of awarding 20 marks to Hafiz Quran students while taking admission in MBBS/BDS degree under Regulation 9(9). Dissented from the majority order. ) MBBS and BDS (Admission, House Job and Internship) Regulations, 2018.
After the dissolution of the bench, the Supreme Court announced that the bench would continue hearing the case without Justice Khan.
Imran Khan slams govt’s ‘complete mockery’ of Constitution
PTI Chairman Imran Khan said that the decision of the Supreme Court does not matter whether his party’s petition should be heard by a five-member bench or by a full court.
The former prime minister said that the most important thing for his party is whether the elections will be according to the constitution or not.
Reacting to the development, Imran Khan tweeted: “Whether it’s a five-judge Supreme Court bench or a full bench, it doesn’t matter to us because we just want to know if the elections are held within 90 days of the Constitution.” will be within.”
Expressing shock over the recent development, he said, “Before we dissolved our two provincial assemblies, I consulted our top constitutional lawyers, all of whom were very clear about holding elections. The constitutional provision of 90 days is inviolable.”
