ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has raised nine questions in a letter to the Supreme Court’s registrar, seeking clarification on how a Sept 14 clarification order was uploaded to the top court’s website.

The Sept 14 order, issued by eight judges led by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to implement the Supreme Court’s July 12 judgement, which declared the PTI eligible for reserved seats in parliament.

In his letter dated Sept 21, the CJP wondered who directed the uploading of the Sept 14 clarification order on the Supreme Court’s website.

His inquiry followed a note from the Deputy Registrar (Judicial), who flagged the issue of the order’s appearance on the website. The note questioned how the order was uploaded when no cause list had been issued, no notices had been sent to the parties, and the order had not been received by the deputy registrar’s office until 8pm on the day of its upload.

Asks SC registrar to explain unauthorised release of the document

CJP Isa’s letter to the registrar echoed the concerns raised in the deputy registrar’s note, stating that nine questions had arisen as a result of the development.

Among the questions posed were: when were the applications for clarification filed, and why were they not presented before the three-judge committee established under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023? He also inquired about how the applications were fixed for hearing without a cause list being issued and whether notices were served to the parties concerned, including the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP).

The CJP further questioned in which courtroom or chamber the applications were heard and by whom and why no cause list was issued for announcement of the Sept 14 clarification order. He also asked how the order was uploaded to the Supreme Court’s website without first being deposited in the court’s original file. Lastly, the CJP demanded to know who had authorised the upload of the order.

The Sept 14 clarification order had explained that 41 of the 80 elected MNAs were returned candidates of PTI and, for all constitutional and legal pur-poses, were part of PTI’s parliamentary party in the national and provincial assemblies.

The July 12 short order required the ECP to confirm whether the remaining 41 independent MNAs had contested the elections as PTI candidates, as they were expected to file statements with the commission within 15 days clarifying their affiliation.

The clarification by the majority judges was in response to an Aug 7 petition by the ECP, which requested the top court to revisit its July 12 order. The Election Commission had argued that the court had granted relief to PTI when it was not a political party, and neither the people claiming to be its candidates had approached the commission, the Peshawar High Court or the Supreme Court to claim reserved seats for women or non-Muslims.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024