Akbar Sher Babar: PM challenges IHC verdict

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday challenged the Islamabad High Court verdict declaring Akbar Sher Babar as a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The PTI chairman on Saturday filed a petition against the IHC order dated 04-12-2019 and cited Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Akbar Sher Babar as respondents.

He contended that 4th December, 2019 order is bad in law and facts hence not sustainable in the law. The IHC order is contrary to and in violation of law and has failed to consider the arguments of the PTI and the questions raised in the intra-court appeal (ICA).

Division bench of IHC has failed to hold whether the ECP and the single judge had the power, jurisdiction and authority to hold that Babar remained a member of the PTI. It also failed to consider that the ECP has acted beyond its power and jurisdiction under Rule 6 of Political Parties Order (PPO) and has acted as coram non judice in deciding that Babar is a member of the PTI.

The IHC also failed to acknowledge that even Babar never made any prayer with regards to the determination of his membership status in the pending complaint or before the ECP or before a competent jurisdiction. Therefore, the ECP and the single judge of IHC had no basis to give a declaration in this regard.

The petitioner submitted that the IHC has passed a vague, non-speaking order without considering the arguments of the PTI.

The order of single judge of IHC in chambers is bad in the eye of law as it is based on misreading and non-reading of facts. The single judge delved into the domain of factual controversy, which exercise could not be conducted in summary manner while sitting in constitutional jurisdictional, nor could the single judge in chambers authenticate the wrongful exercise of the ECP conducted in unlawful manner.

The PTI contended that it had called in question the vires of the impugned order dated 12-03-2018 of ECP, the single judge of IHC misinterpreted many questions and proceeded to authenticate the determination made by the ECP as to Akbar S Babar being member petitioner, thus going beyond the realm of the parent writ petition filed by PTI, which went untouched by the division bench of Islamabad High Court, while disposing of the PTI's ICA.

The IHC in both rounds did not appreciate the distinction between the inquisitorial and adversarial proceedings and misinterpreted the principles thoroughly.

The ECP is bound to implement the judgment of the apex court and revisit the ToRs for contravention there to bring these in conformity with the judgement.

He submitted that there is no denial to the fact that political party is an organization of likeminded individuals working collectively in furtherance of aims and objectives enshrined in party constitution and any person taking divergent lines cannot insist upon as being member.