Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday gave the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) instructions to carry out the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) rulings on general elections in Punjab.
The Supreme Court gave the orders after hearing the plea of the Punjab Assembly lawmakers who had been removed from their seats for defying party rules.
The petitioner informed the bench that the plea was rejected because it was no longer valid. After all, the assembly had been dissolved.
The question of reinstalling the dissident legislators was resolved because the legislature had been dissolved, CJP Umar Ata Bandial noted at the start of the hearing.
The CJP then questioned the Election Commission on its actions regarding the high court’s orders to announce a date for the elections.
The director-general of law for ECP informed the bench that a delegation from the commission had discussed the matter with Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman the previous day.
He continued by saying that the governor had instructed the ECP to look for more information on this topic.
The governor or the Election Commission must follow the law, according to the CJP. It is the governor’s domain, according to the ECP representative.
Justice Ayesha Malik intervened at that time and questioned why the ECP was meeting with the governor.
“Does the Constitution make it responsible for the ECP to contact the governor before the polls?” she inquired.
In the meantime, CJP Bandial informed the ECP’s legal representative that the high court had ordered them to organize elections and that they should follow its directive.
ECP’s DG legal responded by informing the bench that they had also been ordered by the court to consult with the governor.
CJP Bandial said, “If the high court has given this decision, then obey it,” and dismissed the plea.
