The President is not entitled to quash conviction, but he can merely grant pardon to a sentence passed by any court, therefore, the conviction of Nawaz Sharif is intact, said advocate Qazi Mohiuddin to a three-member bench of the Supreme Court.
Qazi, counsel for Khurram Shah, a voter, and Noor Elahi a candidate from NA-123 (Lahore), cited Article 45 of the Constitution which says "the President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority."
A three-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Moosa K Leghari, Justice Sakhi Hussain Bokhari and Justice Sheikh Hakim Ali, however adjourned the hearing till Friday. The court is hearing application for constitution of a larger bench for hearing of Sharif brothers' electoral eligibility cases. He said Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on December 3, 2007 to contest general elections from NA-120 Lahore.
Therefore, his (Nawaz Sharif) disqualification for the by-elections was patent and inherent. And the judges, to whom Nawaz Sharif was maligning that they would not allow him to contest the elections, had nothing to do with that, he added. Qazi said that Nawaz Sharif did not challenge the decisions of the returning officer and went for filing another nomination paper from a new constituency (NA-123) in the by-elections.
In general elections, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified under Article 62 of the Constitution as an anti-terrorism court had awarded him life imprisonment and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had disqualified him for 21 years, he added. Qazi said that Nawaz did not produce any record pertaining to pardon granted by the president.
He alleged that the same person, containing same material, which showed mala fide intentions of the petitioners, authored all petitions in the apex court against the decision of Lahore High Court (LHC). Qazi said that the Federation was not an aggrieved party in the LHC decision, which had disqualified Nawaz Sharif, hence he had no locus standi to file the petition against that order.
Earlier, advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri, concluding his arguments, censured the Punjab government for filing a petition against disqualification of Sharif brothers. "The Job of the bureaucracy is to guide and steer the politicians instead of involvement in such matters," he added.
He paid tribute to the judges of this country for their role during the four military coups in the past, saying it was wise approach of the judges, which tamed the jungle lions (dictators) and brought them in the net of Constitution. Justice Hakim Ali Sheikh lauded his remarks about the judges, and said that journalists and lawyers, who were striving for the sanctity of the court, their efforts were praiseworthy. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till Friday.