Reserved seats: Big win for PTI as SC sets aside PHC verdict | BREAKING NEWS
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00:00I repeat, it is by myself, Justice Munib Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Atar Minallah,
00:08Syed Hassan Ali Rizvi, Shahid Waheed and Irfan Saadat Khan.
00:14For detailed reasons to be recorded later and subject to what is set out therein by
00:18way of amplification or explanation or otherwise, these appeals are decided in the following
00:25terms.
00:26Number one, the immune judgment dated 25th of March, 24 of the Leonard Fullbench of the
00:33High Court is set aside to the extent it is or may be inconsistent with this order or
00:38the detailed reasons.
00:40Number two, the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan dated 1st of March, 2024 is declared
00:47to be ultra-viris the constitution without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
00:53Number three, the notifications of various dates whereby the persons respectively mentioned
01:01therein being the persons identified in the Commission's notification dated 13th of May,
01:082024 have been declared to be returned candidates for reserved seats for women and minorities
01:15in the national and provincial assemblies are declared to be ultra-viris the constitution
01:20without lawful authority and of no legal effect and are quashed from 6th of May, 2024 onwards
01:28being the date an interim order was made by the court in CPLA number 13289 of 24, the
01:35leave petitions out of which the instant appeals arise.
01:39Four, it is declared that the lack or denial of an election symbol does not in any manner
01:46affect the constitutional and legal rights of a political party.
01:50To participate in an election, whether general or by, and to field candidates and the Commission
01:56is under a constitutional duty to act and construe and apply all statutory provisions
02:01accordingly.
02:03Number five, it is declared that for the purposes and within the meaning of paragraphs D and
02:08E of clauses 6 of article 51 and paragraph C of clause 3 of article 106 of the constitution,
02:19the PTI was and is a political party, which secured or won the two terms being interchangeable
02:27general seats in the national and provincial assemblies in the general elections of 2024
02:33as hearing after provided.
02:35Six, during the course of the hearing of the instant appeals on 27th of June, 2024, Leonard
02:44Council for the Commission placed before the court a list of 80 returned candidates
02:49for the National Assembly, now MNAs, setting out in tabular form particulars relating to
02:56their election.
02:57Leonard Council made a categorical statement that the Commission stood by the data so provided
03:02to the court.
03:03In particular, the list contained three columns marked as follows.
03:08Number one, statement on nomination form given declaration and oath by the person
03:16nominated, that is, I belong to.
03:19Number two, certificate of party affiliation under section 66 of the Election Act 2017.
03:26And number three, statutory declaration affidavit accompanying section 66 certificate.
03:33Number seven, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the general election of 2024, it is declared
03:40that out of the 480 returned candidates now MNAs, those being 39 in all and whose particulars
03:46are set out in annexure A of to this order, in respect of whom the Commission has shown
03:52PTI in any one of the aforementioned columns in the list were and are the returned candidates
03:59whose seats were and have been secured by the PTI within the meaning and for purposes
04:04of Para 5 above in relation to Article 51 provisions, Para 8.
04:10In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the general election of 2024, it is further
04:16ordered that any of the remaining 41 returned candidates out of the aforesaid 80, which
04:23is mentioned in the annexure B, may within 15 working days of this order file a statement
04:28duly signed and notarized stating that he or she contested the general election as
04:33a candidate of the political party specified therein.
04:37If any such statement is or filed, the Commission shall forthwith, but in any case within seven
04:43days thereafter, give notice to the political party concerned to file within 15 working
04:48days a confirmation that the candidate contested the general election as its candidate.
04:55A political party may in any case, at any time after the filing of a statement as a
05:00foresaid of its own motion, file its confirmation.
05:04If such a statement is filed and is confirmed by the political party concerned, then the
05:09seats secured by such candidates shall be forthwith deemed to be the seats secured by
05:14that political party for the purposes of Para 5 above in relation to Article 51 provisions.
05:21The Commission shall also forthwith issue and post on its website a list of returned
05:26candidates, now MNAs, and seats to which this Para applies within seven days after the last
05:33date on which the political party may file its confirmation and shall simultaneously
05:38file a compliance report in the court.
05:42Paragraph 9.
05:43For the purposes of Paragraph 5 of this order in relation to Article 51 provisions, the
05:48number of general seats secured by PTI shall be the total of the seats declared in terms
05:53of Paragraph 7 and those, if any, to which Paragraph 8 applies.
05:58The PTI shall be entitled to reserve seats for women and minorities in the National Assembly
06:03accordingly.
06:04PTI shall, within 15 working days of this order, file its list of candidates for the
06:10said reserved seats and the provisions of Election Act 2017 and the Election Rules 2017
06:17shall be applied to such lists in such manner as gives effect to this order in full measure.
06:24The Commission shall, out of the reserved seats for women and minorities in the National
06:28Assembly to which Para 3 of this order applies, notify as elected in terms of the Article
06:3651 provisions that a number of candidates from the list filed or, as the case may be,
06:42to be filed by the PTI as is proportionate to the general seats secured by it in terms
06:47of Paragraph 7 and 8 of this order.
06:51Paragraph 10.
06:52The foregoing paras shall apply mutus mutandus for purposes of Article 106 in relation to
06:58PTI for the reserved seats for women and minority in Hyderabad, Punjab and Sindh provincial
07:04assemblies to which Paragraph 3 of this order applies.
07:08In case the Commission or PTI need any clarification or order as to give effect to this
07:12Para in full measure, it shall forthwell apply to the Court by making an appropriate
07:16application which shall be put before the judges, constituting the majority in Chambers
07:21for such orders and directions as may be deemed appropriate.
07:25Thank you.
07:27Thank you.
07:29Very grateful.
07:31Now I call upon Justice Yahya Afridi, who has written a separate short order.
07:43You want to read it or you want to summarize it?
07:47Okay.
07:51For reasons to be recorded later, Civil Appeal No. so-and-so, Civil Petition No. so-and-so,
07:57CMA No. so-and-so are dismissed in terms that Sunni Ijtihad Council does not fulfil the
08:03conditions prescribed for a political party under the enabling provisions of the Constitution
08:08of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law to be allowed allocated reserved seats for
08:14women and non-Muslims in the National Assembly or the Provincial Assemblies.
08:18Pakistan Tariq-e-Insaf fulfils the conditions prescribed for a political party under the
08:24enabling provisions of the Constitution and the law to be allowed allocated reserved seats
08:29for women and non-Muslims in terms that a candidate for a seat in the National Assembly
08:36or the Provincial Assembly who in his or her nomination paper has declared on oath to belong
08:42to PTI and duly submitted a certificate of the same political party confirming that he she is
08:49the nominated candidate of PTI for the respective constituency shall remain so and cannot be
08:55declared independent unless he she submitted a written declaration to the Election Commission
09:02of Pakistan or the returning officer to be treated as a candidate of another political party
09:08or as an independent candidate. A returned candidate to a returned candidate to the
09:15National Assembly or the Provincial Assembly who in his nomination paper has declared on
09:20oath to belong to PTI and duly submitted a certificate of the same political party
09:26confirming that he she is the nominated candidate of PTI for the respective constituency
09:32shall remain so and this consistent position maintained by a returned candidate throughout
09:39the electoral process should be legally recognized by the Election Commission of Pakistan
09:44and such returned candidate cannot be treated as a returned candidate of any other political party
09:51or as an independent candidate returned candidate and thus the reserve seats for women
09:58and non-Muslims are to be allocated allotted to PTI accordingly. A candidate nominated number three
10:06a candidate nominated by PTI for a constituency of a National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly
10:13who after being declared returned joined another party or sought to be treated as an independent
10:19raises serious concerns about disregarding the trust reposed in him or her by the voters
10:26thus undermining the will of the will of the people and number four the legal implications
10:33affects consequences of the determination made above in paragraph two two and two three as well
10:39as the actions or inactions of Election Commission of Pakistan thereon although deeply concerning
10:45have not been challenged in the present appeals and petitions and the persons who would be affected
10:51or aggrieved are not parties before this court therefore issuing a definite direction to the
10:57Election Commission for the allocation of specified number of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims
11:04to a political party in the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly would not be legally
11:10appropriate accordingly the Election Commission of Pakistan is directed to decide the allocation
11:16of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims to political parties in the National Assembly and
11:20the Provincial Assembly in the light of the determinations made herein above after providing
11:26opportunity of hearing to the parties concerned and if required revisit its earlier decisions
11:32on the matter the needful be done within seven days of receipt of this order thank you
11:37for the reasons to be recorded later i dismissed the appeals and petitions as well as cmas and the
11:44judgment of the peshawar high court is upheld has anyone agreed to be separate followed i justice
11:51name after kankar with honourable justice aminuddin khan for the reasons to be recorded later i
12:00followed i justice name after kankar with honourable justice aminuddin khan and for the
12:07reasons to be recorded later on i am also dismissing all the appeals petitions and cms
12:13and uphold the judgment of the peshawar high court thank you now i read justice
12:22jamal khan mandu his order