LEGAL
Supreme Court Overturns Election Commission and Peshawar High Court Decisions on Sunni Ittehad Council's Reserved Seats
the Supreme Court has declared the decisions of the Election Commission and the Peshawar High Court regarding the specific seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council to be null and void. This landmark decision was delivered by a 13-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa, which had reserved the verdict in the case.
The larger bench comprised Justices Qazi Faiz Isa, Muneeb Akhtar, Mansoor Ali Shah, Athar Manullah, Ayesha Malik, Shahid Waheed, Azhar Hasan Rizvi, Yahya Afridi, Jamal Mandukhel, Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Irfan Saadat, Naeem Afghan, and Aminuddin.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa stated that the decision is a majority verdict of 8, written by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. The ruling, delivered in Supreme Court's room number one, was pronounced in the presence of election commission lawyer Sikandar Bashir, Attorney General Mansoor Awan, and PTI leaders.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, while delivering the verdict, nullified the decisions of the Election Commission and Peshawar High Court, stating that the Election Commission's decision was against the Constitution. The ruling affirms that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) remains a political party entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.
The court declared PTI's entitlement to these seats, rejecting the appeals of the Sunni Ittehad Council. It also ruled that other 41 candidates can submit certificates within 14 days affirming their candidacy under the Sunni Ittehad Council, which cannot claim reserved seats as per the Constitution.
The ruling emphasized that PTI candidates cannot be declared as independents of any other party and that the Election Commission must re-distribute the reserved seats. The court criticized the Election Commission for failing in its responsibilities and ordered it to correct its actions accordingly.
This decision comes after a series of legal battles, beginning with the Sunni Ittehad Council's application to the Election Commission on February 21 for specific seats and subsequent appeals and petitions in various courts. The full court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, reserved the verdict on July 9 after nine hearings.