ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial said yesterday that the apex court will ensure that free and fair elections are held in accordance under the Constitution by protecting the Election Commission of Pakistan, but if there is some mala fide on the part of the ECP, then we shall interfere. Justice Bandial said this while heading a three-member bench, comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi which was conducting hearing of former city chief police officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mahmood Dogar’s petition against the decision of the Federal Service Tribunal (FST). Dogar had also filed the contempt petition against the Punjab provincial government. However, the apex court disposed of the former CCPO’s petition against his transfer as his counsel withdrew it. Former Lahore CCPO Dogar was initially suspended by the federal government in November last year. However, the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) reinstated him, but in the review the FST maintained the suspension order. The Punjab caretaker government removed Dogar as CCPO on January 23, 2023. The Supreme Court in February suspended Dogar’s transfer order. However, in March, the ECP challenged the apex court’s order of suspending the transfer of Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mehmood Dogar. “The ECP is charged with a constitutional duty of ensuring that the elections are conducted honestly, justly, fairly and that the corrupt practices are guarded against. It is imperative that to ensure that the constitutional duty as envisaged in Article 218(3) is fulfilled, the machinery assisting the Commission is neutral and non-partisan, and also has no germs of affiliations with a political party,” said the ECP petition. The chief justice remarked that the audio and video leaks on social media have no authenticity and a scurrilous campaign is being launched against the judges through these tapes. He said that the audio and video leaks on social media have no authenticity and scurrilous campaign is being launched against the judges through these tapes. Justice Bandial said that everything happened after the tapes’ leak. “We are showing restraint and not taking action,” he added. Earlier this month, a new audio leak purported to be of a telephone conversation between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry and his brother Faisal Chaudhry advocate.