ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on released its detailed verdict on the July 12 order in the reserved seats case, which had declared the PTI a parliamentary party.
The 8-5 majority July order had declared ex-premier Imran Khan’s PTI eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had announced the majority verdict, which was supported by seven other judges: Justices MunibAkhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, AtharMinallah, Syed HasanAzharRizvi, ShahidWaheed and IrfanSaadat Khan.
The case had been heard by a 13-member bench — Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) QaziFaez Isa and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail had penned a minority judgment; Justices Aminuddin Khan and NaeemAkhtar Afghan in their ruling had rejected the pleas for reserved seats; and Justice YahyaAfridi had ordered the electoral watchdog to decide the matter.
The eight judges had ruled that out of a list of 80 MNAs, 39 belonged to the PTI, and gave 41 others the chance to resubmit their party affiliation. Despite the 8-5 split, 11 out of the 13 judges had declared the PTI a parliamentary party.
The 70-page judgment released today, available on the SC’s website, was authored by Justice Shah, who is set to succeed incumbent CJP Isa as the top judge in October.
The verdict states: “When election authorities engage in actions […] such as unlawfully denying the recognition of a major political party and treating its nominated candidates as independents, they not only compromise the rights of these candidates but also significantly infringe upon the rights of the electorate and corrode their own institutional legitimacy.”
“The importance of free and fair elections in a democracy cannot be overstated. The judiciary’s role in ensuring electoral integrity and upholding the will of the people is essential for sustaining public trust in the democratic process,” the order read.
The SC asserted that the “court’s power to do ‘complete justice’ is a critical tool in preventing democratic backsliding and protecting democracy effectively”.
