A single bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah conducted hearing of a petition moved by President Lahore High Court Bar Muhammad Maqsood Buttar challenging the said ordinance and issued notices to all concerned parties and also directed the Attorney General for Pakistan to appear before the court on the next hearing of the case.
Regarding the remarks made by Prime Minister Imran Khan in support of the controversial PECA ordinance, the IHC Chief Justice observed that apparently, it seemed that the Prime Minister had been misguided about the law.
During the hearing, petitioner’s counsel said that they have raised some new points in the petition. He adopted that the FIA has no powers to intrude in private disputes.
He contended that PECA ordinance is against the teachings of Islam and any law flouting the Constitution could not be enforced. The counsel argued that the ordinance has been against the fundamental principle of the freedom of expression and it is violation of the Constitution. He argued that the ordinance has been promulgated to empower the FIA exceeding against its mandate, which is unconstitutional and violation of the FIA Act.
In the petition, he adopted that the Constitution provides for a social contract between the citizens and the State and for the advancement of democracy as well as human rights, everyone has a right to freedom of speech and expression, protection from arbitrary arrests and detention, which cannot be curtailed through the impugned ordinance.
The counsel contended, “Insertion of the new Section 4(A) is violative of the Scheme of the Constitution and seeks to tax an already overloaded judicial system with unnecessary ‘supervisory’ duties and unconstitutionally confers powers to the Executive to interfere with the judicial adjudication process.”
“The impugned ordinance is contrary to and in violation of international instruments, to which Pakistan is a signatory and thus is contrary to the international commitments of the government of Pakistan which must be honoured to maintain a standing in the Comity of Nations,” added the petitioner.
Court directs AGP to appear on next hearing, adjourns further hearing till March 10
He said that it is settled law that any amendments to be made in a law should be done keeping in view that none of the constitutional values are disturbed by such an amendment and that the same have been carried out thoughtfully, and inclusive of consultative process as laid down in the case of Vice Chairman Punjab Bar Council Vs Government of Punjab 2021.
The counsel said that the impugned ordinance reeks of mala-fide and has been passed in the most surreptitious manner which is not only offensive to the constitutional framework of the country but also to the administration of Justice and functioning of stat authorities.
After hearing the arguments, the IHC bench clubbed all the petitions against amendments in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) ordinance and adjourned further hearing of the case till March 10.