ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday said the superior courts lacked jurisdiction to entertain petitions related to the conduct of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members and of the chief election commissioner (CEC).

Dismissing a petition filed by Advocate Riaz Hanif Rahi and a candidate of the local government elections, IHC Justice Amir Farooq said according to articles 213, 214 and 215 of the Constitution, the CEC’s conduct and that of any member of the ECP can only be examined under Article 209.

Articles 213 and 214 define the procedure of the CEC’s appointment while Article 215 explains the term of office of the commissioner and ECP members, according to which the term for both is five years and the commissioner and members shall not be removed from office except in the manner prescribed in Article 209 of the Constitution.

Under Article 209, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) may entertain references against the serving judges of superior courts and holders of constitutional posts.

The petition which was heard on Friday cited parliamentary affairs and ECP secretaries, CEC retired Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza, ECP member from Punjab retired Justice Altaf Ibrahim, ECP member from Balochistan retired Justice Shakeel Ahmed, ECP member from KP retired Justice Irshad Qaiser and ECP member from Sindh Abdul Ghaffar Soomro as respondents in the case.

The petition said the appointment of ECP members has created extra burden on the public exchequer.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2017