ISLAMABAD, May 06 (APP):The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday suspended the verdict of Peshawar High Court (PHC) regarding allocation of reserved seats in the National Assembly.
The three-member bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, which heard the appeal of ‘Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), referred the matter to the judges committee for forming a larger bench.
The Supreme Court, in its order, said that the court decision would apply to the political parties to the extent of additional reserved seats only.
It declared that it would hear the case on a daily basis from June 3.
On the occasion, the Federal Government requested the court to form a larger bench to which the matter was sent to the judges committee.
The court said that the members of the reserved seats allotted in the second phase would not be able to vote until the final decision.
Addressing the Attorney General for Pakistan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked that how the political parties could get the additional reserved seats as they could take seats according to their proportion. “Can the remaining seats be given to them? Is there anything like that in the law?” he further questioned and said if it was not so in the law, then it was not against the constitutional scheme to do so.
The case was then adjourned.
The SIC had challenged on April 1 the PHC’s March 14 order that deprived the party of reserved seats. The petition stated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidates joined the SIC after their party lost its electoral symbol, and the Election Commission of Pakistan also raised no objections to the above independent returned candidates joining the SIC.
