ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to accept the pleadings of Shahbaz Sharif and Kulsoom Nawaz to overturn Lahore High Court’s decision of disqualifying them from the general elections.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Riaz Ahmed Sheikh, Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui and Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq rejected the petitions with an observations that the court could not disrupt the election process at such a belated stage.

The court also observed that accepting the appeals of Shahbaz Sharif and Kulsoom Nawaz would mean discrimination against three petitioners, the pleadings of whom were rejected earlier by the court on the grounds that only few days have left in the elections and it was practically not possible to print ballot papers and make them available at the polling stations in time.

Ashtar Ausaf Ali, representing former chief minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of Nawaz Sharif, also requested the court to stay the elections in those constituencies where his clients were contesting. He also offered to bear the cost of printing and logistics of the ballot papers.

The counsel later told the reporters that Shahbaz Sharif was contesting from constituencies NA-122 and PP-141 and 142 and Kulsoom Nawaz from NA-119 and 120.

The court observed that the election process was at the final stages and could not be disturbed at such a belated stage.

The counsel argued that it was the fundamental right of his clients to fight the elections besides candidates could not be thrown out of the election arena without any legal grounds. The counsel also cited Article 17 of the constitution to establish that contesting elections and to remain in a political office was a fundamental right of an individual. Besides, it was not a question of an individual but it involves the head of a political party. He argued that Begum Kalsoom was ousted from the elections on the grounds that her signatures were not attested.

Mr Ali also clarified that his clients have not been disqualified by the high court but ousted from the election arena on technical grounds, which would be a great injustice to the nation.

The petitioners had prayed that the election tribunal had accepted the election appeals against them without announcing the judgment in open court or the chambers on Sept 12. The reader of the court conveyed the order of acceptance of appeals orally at about 6:45 pm to the press and other personal present, the counsel stated.

He apprised the court that he had immediately applied to obtain the copy of the order, but it could not be procured on the reason that it was not signed till 10:30 am on Sept 14. He reminded that the tribunal had ceased to exist on Sept 13.

He pleaded that since the appeals was not disposed of within the specified period, therefore it stood rejected by the operation of law and the order of the returning officer of accepting the nomination papers stood restored.

He stated that an application was also moved to the Election Commission on Sept 14 to direct the returning officers to include the petitioner’s name in the list of the validly nominated candidates and a symbol of Pakistan Muslim League-N be allotted.

However, when the petitioners were excluded from the final list which was also announced on Sept 14, they went to the Lahore High Court which also dismissed the case on the grounds that the finding of the tribunal could not be upset in constitutional jurisdiction.