The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday disposed of contempt of court applications filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independent candidates for National Assembly constituencies regarding violation of the court orders after the petitioners told the high court that they would seek further remedy by approaching the election tribunal.
PTI-backed independent candidates Khalid Mehmood Ali, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Syed Abbas Hussain, who challenged the election results of NA-231, NA-238 and NA-247 Karachi, had filed contempt of court applications against Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members for violating the court orders.
The applicants submitted that they had secured the highest number of votes in their respective constituencies but the returning officers did not declare them as the returned candidates.
They said the high court had directed the ECP to decide their complaints with regard to discrepancies in the election results, but ECP members failed to pass any order in the matter and violated the court order within the stipulated time.
They alleged that the ECP did not entertain the complaints of the petitioners despite court orders and dismissed the same without passing a written order or scrutiny of the election record. A counsel for the ECP filed a statement along with copies of the detailed judgment of the ECP mentioning reasons of the dismissal of the applications. The court took the statement of the ECP on record.
The counsel for the petitioners submitted that they would now seek further remedy by approaching the election tribunal in accordance with the law. A division bench of the SHC headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi disposed of the contempt of court application.
It is pertinent to mention that the Sindh High Court had on February 13 ordered that the issue regarding consolidation of the national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies results of Karachi and the discrepancy, if any, in the Form 45 and Form 47 either made in presence or absence of the petitioner or their representatives shall be resolved by the Election Commission of Pakistan after scrutiny of the relevant record.
The high court had directed the ECP that decisions shall be made in terms of the articles 218 and 224 of the Constitution after complying with all relevant provisions of the Election Act and its rules.
Mayoral election
The SHC adjourned the hearing of petitions against the election of the Karachi mayor on the request of the respondent’s counsel.
Karachi Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and others have challenged the elections of the mayor and deputy mayor of Karachi assailing the local government law's amendments that allow unelected persons to contest the elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.
The petitioners’ counsel pointed out that the Section 18 of the Act made the membership of the corporation/council a sine qua non (essential condition) vis-à-vis the eligibility of a person seeking to be elected to the post of chairman or mayor.
He further argued that prior to the 2023 Act, it had been necessary that a person goes through the rigour of a direct electoral process to become eligible to contest the election for either of those posts.
He also said that through the insertion of the Section 18-B in the 2023 Act, the provincial government had effectively dispensed with the requirement so as to allow any person to be elected as the mayor or deputy mayor.
