ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday asked the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) leader, Rana Tanveer, to approach the speaker National Assembly for production orders of Khwaja Asif and try resolving the matter in the Parliament.
A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah stated this while hearing a petition filed by Rana Tanveer through advocates Barrister Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha and Barrister Omer Azad Malik.
During the hearing, the bench asked from the counsel that whether before invoking the jurisdiction of this court under Article 199 of the Constitution remedies were availed under Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007? The judge further asked whether the worthy speaker of the National Assembly was approached to resolve the matter.
The court observed in its order that from the answer, it does not appear that an effort was made to resolve the issue by approaching the forums and resorting to the dispute resolution mechanism implicit under the Constitution and the Rules of 2007.
The petitioner asserted that as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, he had issued production order, dated 01.02.2021 to enable MNA Khwaja Muhammad Asif to attend the proceedings of the Committee. He added that he is aggrieved because the secretary of the National Assembly is refusing to enforce the production order issued by him.
Justice Minallah noted that there is bar of jurisdiction under Article 69 of the Constitution. He mentioned that this Court has held in the judgment titled “BNP Pvt Ltd etc v Capital Development Authority” that proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee fall within the ambit of the expression “internal proceedings of the Parliament”.
“It is noted that Parliament is the supreme legislative organ of the State. It represents the people of Pakistan and its respect and effectiveness depends on the ability of each Member to resolve disputes without involving the courts. This appears to be the spirit of the bar contained under Article 69 of the Constitution,” said the court order. It maintained, “By involving the courts in internal disputes of Parliament, the sanctity of the supreme legislative organ is undermined. It has a profound impact on the judicial branch as well. The leader of the lower house and members of the treasury benches have an onerous duty to ensure that the Parliament functions effectively because they command majority.”
Justice Minallah stated that the responsibility of other members is no less.
An effective and functional Parliament is the sole panacea for ensuring the well being and prosperity of the people. The security and integrity of Pakistan also depends on the institutional strength and sovereignty of the Parliament. “The sovereignty and prestige of the Parliament is compromised when elected leadership, whether on treasury or opposition benches, allow their internal disputes to be brought before the courts. In doing so, they acknowledge their failure to uphold the Constitution and their oath. The intervention of the judicial branch of the State erodes the confidence of the people in the sovereign status of the Parliament,” said the IHC. He further said that it reflects adversely on the political leadership of the people.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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