BY: Nasir Mehmood Kiyani
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar set aside the ruling of the deputy speaker Punjab assembly and declared Ch Pervaiz Elahi winner of the CM Punjab election.
Supreme court declared that “Understanding and implementation of the said short judgment as well as the provisions of Article 63A(1)(b) of the Constitution by the Deputy Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Punjab was patently incorrect and erroneous and cannot be sustained. The governance of the Province of Punjab in accordance with the Constitution has been subverted where by the fundamental rights of the people have been seriously infringed.”
Three-member further said that “having admittedly secured 186 votes as against 179 votes obtained by Mr.Hamza Shehbaz Sharif in the runoff election of Chief Minister, Punjab held on 22.07.2022,
Chaudhry Parvez Elahi is declared as the duly elected Chief Minister, Punjab. We direct the Chief Secretary, Punjab to immediately and forthwith and on the announcement of this short order issue the requisite notification declaring the petitioner as the duly elected Chief Minister, Punjab.
During three days hearing, the apex court provided the opportunity to all parties to present their case. Advocate Irfan Qadir appeared on behalf of the deputy speaker Punjab assembly and reiterated his stance that the full court bench should take up this case. The ruling alliance also demanded that a full court bench must hear this case and “bench fixing” is not acceptable.
After a lengthy hearing, the apex court rejected the plea for establishing a full court bench and announced that three-member bench will conclude this case. The ruling alliance rejected this decision and announced that they will now boycott the hearings. After commencing the hearing on Tuesday, CJP Umar Atta Bandial observed that the ruling alliance announced the boycott of these hearings, when we gave verdicts that favoured them, they distributed sweets on the roads.
In its written order, the apex court directed Governor Punjab to administer the oath of office to Ch Pervaiz Elahi and if he is not available then President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi will do so. “We direct the Governor, Punjab to arrange and administer the oath of office to the petitioner as the duly elected Chief Minister, Punjab in accordance with law and the
Constitution not later than 11:30 pm tonight i.e. 26.07.2022. In case, the Governor, Punjab is unable or unwilling to administer such oath, the President of Pakistan may forthwith administer oath of office to the petitioner as Chief Minister, Punjab.”
After this written order, Ch Pervaiz reached the governor house but he was informed that governor Punjab Baligh ur Rehman will not administer the oath. After this development, Ch Pervaiz Elahi reached the president house where the president of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi administered the oath atm mid-night around 2:00 AM.
Reactions
Former PM and chairman PTI Imran Khan praised the apex court judgment and appreciated the three-member bench for upholding the constitution.
PMLN’s vice chairman Maryam Nawaz rejected the verdict and declared it a “Judicial coup”.
Additional secretary Supreme Court Bar Association Ch Riasat Ali appreciated the judgement and reiterated that the lawyers community stands with Pakistan, the constitution and the courts.
After this landmark judgment, PTI workers come out on roads and celebrated this historic victory across the country.
