Court adjourns hearing till August 22 for further proceedings.

ISLAMABAD     -    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday extended its restrain­ing order to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from taking action against the then prime minister Imran Khan and the then federal minister Asad Umer for alleged­ly violating the election code of conduct by at­tending a public gather­ing in Lower Dir while holding public office.

A single bench of the IHC comprising Acting Chief Justice of IHC Jus­tice Aamer Farooq con­ducted hearing of the petition moved by Im­ran and Asad challenging the ECP’s notices against them for attending a pub­lic gathering in Lower Dir.

In this matter, the IHC bench had previously re­strained the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from taking action against the then prime minister Imran Khan and the then federal minister Asad Umer for allegedly violating the election code of conduct by attending a public gathering in Low­er Dir. The bench had ob­served that the commis­sion could issue notices over a breach of law but could not impose fine or disqualify candidates.

During the hearing, the associate lawyer of Im­ran and Asad appeared before the court and sought adjournment due to non-availability of the counsels representing Imran and Asad.

Accepting the plea, the IHC bench adjourned the hearing in this matter till August 22 for further proceedings.

It was March 11 when the ECP had issued notic­es to Imran Khan and sev­eral other PTI leaders for attending a public gather­ing in Lower Dir. Both the petitioners moved the IHC against the notices and prayed to the court to nullify the same.

Previously, petition­ers’ counsel Barrister Ali Zafar informed the IHC bench that on February 19, Elections (Amend­ment) Ordinance 2022 had been promulgated that allowed public of­fice-holders to partake in election campaigns.

In their petition moved through Ali Zafar Ad­vocate, they raised dif­ferent questions of law involved in this case in­cluding whether the ECP can amend and nullify the provisions of Elec­tions Act, 2017 by issuing a Code of Conduct of elec­tions, whether in case of conflict, the provisions of the Elections Act, 2017, overrule any provisions of the Code of Conduct, whether the commission has power to legislate under the Constitution, whether the commis­sion has power to de­clare a provision of Elec­tions Act, 2017 as ultra vires and void of the Con­stitution and whether the commission is hound by the law namely the Elec­tions Act 2017 and re­quire to follow it in letter and spirit?

The petitioners adopt­ed that under the Con­stitution and the law, the commission has no juris­diction or authority or power to declare Section 181-A to be ultra vires the Constitution, illegal, void or of no effect. They said that in the order dat­ed 10/03/2022, the ECP stepped into the shoes of the legislature and con­sidered itself as a supra constitutional legislative forum which can, on its own, decide to supersede and ignore law by pass­ing a Code of Conduct.

They added that it is respectfully submit­ted that the order dated 10/03/2022 is liable to be declared unlawful and illegal.

They added, “The re­vised clause 16 in the Code of Conduct in fact is in clear violation of and contrary to Section 181- A and hence, ultra vires. No reliance can hence be placed on the revised Code of Conduct. The or­der of the commission dated 10/03/2022 in which the Code of Con­duct was revised, the re­vised Code of Conduct it­self and the notices based on the same are hence ul­tra vires the Elections Act, 2017 and are liable to be declared as such.”

Therefore, they prayed to the court that the or­der dated 10/03/2022 of the commission, the amended clause 16 of the Code of Conduct issued in the purported exercise of the powers under Sec­tion 233 of the Elections Act 2017 and the notic­es dated 11/03/2022 may kindly be declared to be illegal, unlawful, void and ultra vies of the Constitution. Theye also prayed that during the pendency of this peti­tion, the said order of the commission, the amend­ed clause 16 of the Code of Conduct and the notic­es may be suspended in the interest of justice.