Mayoral elections: It's not court's business to make law: CJP

31 Mar, 2016

Adjourning the hearing of a matter relating to mayoral election in Sindh Wednesday, Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali observed that the Supreme Court has nothing to do with legislation but to interpret the constitution. A three-member bench of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali resumed the hearing on identical pleas filed against Sindh High Court (SHC) decision, declaring provincial government's amendment to the local government law which had replaced secret ballot with a show of hands to choose representatives in the province as void.
Earlier, on February 2016, in response to the pleas in the matter the top court had stayed the mayoral elections across Sindh including Karachi issuing notices to Advocates General of Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Balochistan provinces seeking their input over the issue.
Opposing the SHC verdict in the matter, Sindh government's counsel Farooq H Naik contended before the bench saying that provincial assembly has increased women quota through amendment to local government law in the local bodies from 22 percent to 33 percent and replacing secret ballot with show of hands. Naik pleaded that instead of declaring show of hand to choose representative related provision void, the SHC had annulled the entire amendment of the law saying after the verdict there is no local government law in the province. He repeatedly said that the SHC granted remedy to the petitioners which they didn't seek in the pleas. He pleaded that it is not the court's business to make a law but to interpret the constitution in a proposition placed before it. Later, hearing was adjourned till April 4.

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