Clients were sentenced in absentia; mere punishment is not enough for disqualification, a lawyer’s position
Staff Reporter, Daily Dawn, Dawn TV Report
Peshawar: The disqualification of Sunni Ittehad Council members from the Election Commission has been challenged in the Peshawar High Court.
The Peshawar High Court heard the petitions against the disqualification of Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Rai Hassan Khan, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, Rai Haider Ali and Rai Ansar Iqbal.
During the hearing before a bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Ijaz Khan, the lawyer for the petitioner, Syed Sikandar Hayat Shah Advocate, took the position that the petitioners are members of the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly, who were disqualified by the Election Commission on August 5 after being sentenced by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad.
The lawyer said that his clients were sentenced in absentia and the Election Commission disqualified them overnight without waiting for appeals. In such cases, mere conviction is not enough for disqualification, and there are past court decisions in this regard.
During the hearing, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah and representatives of the Election Commission objected that all these constituencies are from Punjab, so the petitioners can approach the Lahore High Court or the Islamabad High Court. The Additional DG Law of the Election Commission told the court that two similar petitions had been dismissed there before.
Justice Waqar Ahmed remarked that when millions of people elect a member of the assembly, the rights of these voters are also affected, and not every conviction leads to disqualification. The court also said on the arguments of the petitioner’s lawyer that in the past, cases of election symbols and reserved seats were heard in this court, and the Supreme Court never took the position that the Peshawar High Court cannot hear such cases.
The lawyer requested that just as the Election Commission suspended the election schedule for Zartaj Gul’s constituency, the same should be done in the case of these petitioners. After hearing the arguments of the parties, the court remarked that an order will be issued on this.
Leave a Reply