LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to notify six more election tribunals (ETs) for Punjab province in light of the nominations sent by the chief justice.

Justice Shahid Karim passed the order allowing two identical petitions filed by PTI-backed independent candidates Advocate Salman Akram Raja and Rao Omar Hashim Khan, who had lost their general election from NA-128, Lahore, and NA-139, Pakpattan, respectively.

In a 26-page judgement, the judge ruled that the ECP is under obligation to appoint as election tribunals all six judges of the LHC as nominated by the chief justice unless he withdraws any name or seeks to substitute it.

The judge maintained that in matters of appointment of the ETs, the opinion of a chief justice of a high court shall have supremacy and the ECP is bound to appoint judges nominated by the chief justice.

He observed that telling a high court chief justice to appoint this and that judge as ET is tantamount to usurpation of the administrative powers of a chief justice conferred by the Constitution and law.

“This also impinges upon the right of access to justice enshrined in the Constitution. Further, if this were conceded to the ECP, it would mean that a chief justice will be required to act on the direction of the ECP,” the judge wrote in the judgement.

Justice Karim observed that the chief justice is the best person suited to take a decision regarding which judges to spare by taking into account various considerations and factors within his peculiar knowledge.

He said the ECP cannot, by any stretch of imagination, insist on a particular judge when the chief justice wants that judge to clear a certain class of cases which he has the capacity to decide expeditiously.

“These are matters to which the ECP has no access,” the judge ruled.

Instructing the ECP to notify the ETs, Justice Karim said this shall be done within the next one week as the matter is of some urgency.

In case the ECP fails to do so, the judge said, it shall be deemed to have been issued and the office of LHC shall proceed ahead on the dictum laid down and place the matters before the chief justice for assigning areas to the tribunals including the six nominated by him.

At present two election tribunals comprising as many judges of the LHC are working in Punjab.

The petitioners contended that the ECP notified five election tribunals each for Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three for Balochistan, and one for Islamabad pursuant to nominations sent by the chief justices of the respective high courts.

However, in Punjab, the ECP made a request to the LHC chief justice to nominate nine judges for appointment as election tribunals, the petitioner said. They said initially, two of the judges nominated by the LHC were appointed as tribunals.

The petitioners asked the court to order the ECP to appoint additional election tribunals in light of the recommendations of the LHC for expeditious disposal of the petitions regarding the general election of 2024.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2024