LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition challenging an amendment in the Election Act 2017 that reduced disqualification period for a member parliament under article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution from life to five years.

Earlier, a law officer questioned the maintainability of the petition and urged the court to dismiss the petition. He said the parliament lawfully introduced the amendment in the law that too in the light of Supreme Court decisions. He pointed out that the Supreme Court in a recent judgment set aside lifetime disqualification of lawmakers.

The petitioner’s counsel however argued that under Article 62 (f) of the Constitution, the disqualification period was prescribed as five years, while the Supreme Court already has already interpreted the provision. He said the impugned amendment was a violation of the Supreme Court's decision.

The petitioner alleged that the amendment was person specific as it was introduced to benefit former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and PTI’s former leader Jahangir Khan Tareen. He argued that no law could be made for the advantage of a few individuals.

He, therefore, asked the court to set aside the impugned amendment in the Election Act 2017 for being unconstitutional and based on mala fide intention.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024