LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition challenging an amendment in the Elections Act, 2017, that reduced the disqualification period for a parliamentarian under article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution from life to five years.

Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan heard the argum­e­nts of the government and the petitioner before concluding the proceedings.

A law officer for the federal government questio­ned the maintainability of the petition and urged the court to dismiss the same.

He said the parliament lawfully introduced the amendment in the law and that too in light of the Supreme Court decisions.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court in a recent judgement set aside lifetime disqualification for lawmakers.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that under Article 62 (f) of the Constitution, the disqualification period was prescribed as five years, while the Supreme Court already interpreted the provision.

The counsel said the impugned amendment was a violation of the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision.

The petitioner alleged that the amendment was person specific as it was introduced to benefit former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and PTI’s former leader Jahangir Khan Tareen.

He argued that no law could be made for the advantage of a few individuals.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned am­endment in the Elec­tion Act, 2017, for being unconstitutional and based on mala fide intention.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2024