LARKANA, Nov 20: Two members of the Sindh Bar Council on Friday filed a joint petition in the Sindh High Court, Larkana circuit bench, challenging the president's ordinance of reducing the number of the council seats allocated to Larkana district.

Asif Ali Soomro and Ayaz Soomro stated in the petition that the president had promulgated the ordinance on November 3 and reduced the Sindh Bar Council seats by eight as a result Larkana, Mithi, Badin and Khairpur districts had lost one seat each and Karachi four seats.

Invoking article 199 of the Constitution, they said that Larkana, having the strength of 456 voters, had been given two seats in accordance with the section 5(2) (b) of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Act 1973.

They termed the ordinance discriminatory and in violation of article 25 and 264 (b) (c) of the Constitution and section 8 of the act.

They said that once that schedule of election for the bar council election was announced, it could not be legally changed and added that the ordinance was prospective in its application and could not have retrospective effect.

They said that second schedule of December 11 and 12 for the bar polls was inoperative as it was issued without amending the rule (5) of the Pakistan Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Rules 1976. They argued that it would render the election null and void because section 7 of the act required the elections to be held on or before November 30.

The petitioners took the stand that the ordinance was promulgated after elections had been held for 32 seats of the NWFP Bar Council. Legally the provisions of the ordinance were not applicable to the NWFP Bar Council elections but it had reduced the number of the NWFP council seats from 32 to 28, the petitioners added.

They said that the ordinance was inapplicable to the present elections of provincial bar councils and prayed the court to hold first schedule issued on September 16 for conducting elections on November 27 as valid and the second schedule as illegal, inoperative and in violation of section 8 of the act.

They further prayed the court to direct the advocate-general of Sindh, who is also the returning officer, to conduct the elections on November 27 in accordance with the first schedule.

Hearing pre-admission arguments, Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro issued notices to the Sindh advocate-general who is ex-officio chairman of the Sindh Bar council, secretary of the Bar council, and secretaries of National Assembly and Senate for first hearing on November 23.