ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) will file a petition against the disqualification of lawmakers permanently under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution in the apex court this week.

The sources said that a petition in this regard has been finalised and has made the federal government as party. It said disqualifying a parliamentarian for life is against the fundamental rights.

The SCBA President, Ahsan Bhoon, is an opponent of the lifetime ban on the lawmakers, who had been disqualified by the court of law under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution. The apex court had also disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen under the same article.

A five-member bench in 2018 had held that if it declared that a lawmaker was not “Sadiq” and “Ameen” [truthful and trustworthy] under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution then he or she would be permanently disqualified from contesting the elections.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial had authored a 52-page ruling that justified permanent disqualification of the parliamentarians under the constitutional provision. Instead of referring the matter to the parliament to take a final decision on the time duration of disqualification, the court comprehensively discussed the importance of Article 62(1)(f).

The verdict said that Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution imposed Islamic ethical conditions for eligibility of a candidate for the election to the parliament but these were made applicable to both Muslim as well as non-Muslim candidates for parliamentary membership.

Justifying lifetime disqualification, Justice Bandial further said that a candidate for election, who had committed misconduct falling within the terms of Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, had on the Islamic and also universal criteria of honesty, integrity, and probity, rendered himself unfit to hold public office.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022