LHC dismisses contempt petition against CEC

LAHORE    -    The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday dis­posed of intra-court ap­peals filed by the Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Pun­jab Governor Muham­mad Balighur Rehman against a single bench order in connection with the date of general elections in Punjab.

The bench headed by Justice Chaudhry Mu­hammad Iqbal heard the appeals filed by the ECP and Punjab governor.

During the proceed­ings, the respondent's counsel argued be­fore the court that the Supreme Court final­ly decided the matter on March 1 and there was no reason to continue hear­ing of the appeals. He pleaded with the court to dispose of the appeals.

Subsequently, the court, agreeing with the stance of the counsel, disposed of the appeals The ECP and governor had ap­proached the court against the single bench order. On Feb 10, 2023, an LHC single bench comprising Justice Jawad Has­san had ordered the ECP to an­nounce the date for general elections in the province after consultation with the governor.

Also, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed as withdrawn a contempt pe­tition against the chief election commissioner (CEC) and oth­ers for not announcing the date for the general elections in the province despite a court order. The single bench comprising Justice Jawad Hassan heard the contempt petition filed by Mu­nir Ahmad. 

During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel filed a civ­il miscellaneous application for issuance of certain directions by highlighting various new de­velopments. However, the Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) counsel submitted that the Supreme Court had final­ly decided the matter on March 1 and the contempt petition had become infructuous, add­ing that there was no reason to proceed further in the matter. At this, the petitioner’s counsel agreed with stance of the ECP counsel and submitted that he did not want to press the mat­ter any longer. Subsequently, the court dismissed the civil miscellaneous application and the contempt petition as being withdrawn.

The petitioner had submitted that the court ordered the ECP to announce a date for gener­al elections in the province af­ter consultation with the Pun­jab Governor, on February 10. He submitted that respondents failed to comply with the court directions and requested the court to initiate contempt pro­ceedings against them.