LAHORE: Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh of the Lahore High Court on Monday referred a petition to the chief justice for constitution of a larger bench as the plea challenges the jurisdiction of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to punish persons on contempt charges under Section 10 of the Election Act 2017.

Justice Abid observed that important legal points had been raised in the petition which needed to be heard by a larger bench. In the last hearing, the court had issued notices to the respondents and also sought assistance from the attorney general of Pakistan and advocate general of Punjab on the points raised in the petition.

The petitioner, Malik Shabir Ismail, through his counsel contended that the Supreme Court in multiple cases held that the ECP was neither a court nor a tribunal; therefore, the power conferred upon it under Section 10 could not be exercised being violative to Article 2014 and Article 175 of the Constitution.

The counsel contended that the ECP had not been declared or established as a court; however, the section 10 of the Act conferred power of a court, without it being established as a court. He said any order passed by the ECP in pursuance of the section 10 of the Act was challengeable before the Supreme Court.

The counsel asked the court to declare that the section 10 of the Election Act, 2017, was violative to the Constitution and restrain the ECP from taking any action or proceedings under the impugned section.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022