Election Act‘Not compulsory’ to reveal dependent kids’ details, observes IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) noted that under the Election Act, it was not compulsory to reveal the details of dependent children.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said this while heading a larger bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir on Wednesday.

The bench heard a petition seeking the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for allegedly concealing his alleged daughter Tyrian White in the nomination papers submitted to contest the 2018 general elections.

Sajid Mahmood, the petitioner approached the IHC claiming that although Imran made arrangements for Tyrian White’s upkeep abroad, he did not disclose it in nomination papers and affidavits filed by him for elections.

During the hearing, Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja argued that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had decided this matter twice. The chief justice inquired whether Imran Khan was not a member of the National Assembly. At that Hamid Ali Shah, representing the petitioner said the PTI’s chief was still a member of parliament.

The IHC bench stated that it was the prerogative of the courts to decide about the qualification as the ECP could not give a decision in this regard. Justice Aamer added that under the Election Act, it was not compulsory to reveal the details of dependent children.

The ECP’s lawyer said it was not compulsory to reveal the details of children; however, it was required to reveal the properties of dependent children. As such, indirectly, the details of the children were required, he said.

The IHC chief justice asked about the law of the ECP. The ECP’s lawyer replied that if this practice was followed, the case would fall in “corrupt practice”.

Justice Aamer said that in the case of wrong details, the ECP had to take notice within 120 days and no action was taken by the institution in the court. Then, he directed the petitioner’s lawyer to complete his arguments on the next hearing and deferred the hearing till March 8 for further proceedings.

In this matter, the petitioner is seeking disqualification of the PTI chief, an MNA from the NA-95 Mianwali-I constituency, contending that all candidates contesting elections for either national or provincial assemblies are required to furnish an affidavit with respect of their credentials and assets.

He said that one such information is about the children who are dependent on a candidate, and in this connection, Imran had wrongly mentioned two children including “Qasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan” and had omitted the third.

He claimed, “The respondent no 1 [Imran Khan] has deliberately and wilfully failed to declare his daughter Tyrian White in the relevant columns of the nomination papers and the affidavit appended therewith, hence he is not sagacious, righteous, honest and a man of good character in terms of Article 62 of the Constitution.”

The petitioner urged the court to summon the former prime minister and inquire about the reasons for the violation of Article 62 of the Constitution, which says, “a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless — he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law”.

He also prayed to the court to question Imran for “submitting a false declaration and affidavit and as to why he should be allowed to be a member of the parliament … and may not be de-seated in all accumulated consequences for the violation of the Constitution and the law.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023