ISLAMABAD-The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday asked the leader of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) to approach the Speaker National Assembly for production orders of Khawaja Asif and endeavor to resolve the matter before the internal forums of the Parliament.
A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah stated this while hearing the petition filed by Rana Tanveer through his counsels Barrister Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha and Barrister Omer Azad Malik.
During the hearing, the bench asked from the counsel that whether before invoking the jurisdiction of this court under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, remedies available under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 were exhausted.
He was also asked that whether the worthy Speaker of the National Assembly was approached to resolve the matter?
The court observed in its order that from the answer, it does not appear that an effort was made to resolve the issue by approaching the forums and resorting to the dispute resolution mechanism implicit under the Constitution and the Rules of 2007.
The petitioner asserted that as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, he had issued production order, dated 01.02.2021 to enable MNA Khawaja Muhammad Asif to attend the proceedings of the Committee. He added that he is aggrieved because the Secretary of the National Assembly is refusing to enforce the production order issued by him.
Justice Athar noted that there is bar of jurisdiction under Article 69 of the Constitution. He mentioned that this Court has held in the judgment titled “BNP Pvt. Ltd. etc. v. Capital Development Authority” that proceedings of Public Accounts Committee fall within the ambit of the expression ‘internal proceedings of the Majlis-e-Shoora(Parliament).’
“It is noted that Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) is the supreme legislative organ of the State. It represents the people of Pakistan and its respect and effectiveness depends on the ability of each Member to resolve disputes without involving the courts. This appears to be the spirit of the bar contained under Article 69 of the Constitution,” said the court order.
It maintained, “By involving the courts in internal disputes of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), the sanctity of the supreme legislative organ is undermined. It has a profound impact on the judicial branch as well. The leader of the Lower House and members of the treasury benches have an onerous duty to ensure that the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) functions effectively because they command majority.”
Justice Athar stated that the responsibility of other members is no less. An effective and functional Parliament is the sole panacea for ensuring the well-being and prosperity of the people. The security and integrity of Pakistan also depends on the institutional strength and sovereignty of the Parliament.
“The sovereignty and prestige of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) is compromised when elected leadership, whether on treasury or opposition benches, allow their internal disputes to be brought before the courts. In doing so, they acknowledge their failure to uphold the Constitution and their oath. The intervention of the judicial branch of the State erodes the confidence of the people in the sovereign status of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament),” said the IHC Chief Justice.
He further said that it reflects adversely on the political leadership of the people. Political controversies ought to be resolved by political leadership and it is their duty to ensure that no one has a justifiable reason to involve the judicial branch in matters which fall within the domain of the legislature.
The bench also said that it is noted that maintaining the respect and prestige of the Parliament is a constitutional obligation of every Member of the Parliament under Article 5 of the Constitution.
Later, the court deferred the hearing till February 23 for further proceedings.