KP Ehtesab Commission Act challenged in PHC

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday issued notices to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and federal governments in a writ petition challenging the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act, 2014.
Noor Daraz, chief coordination officer in Kohat and father of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Member Provincial Assembly Gul Sahib Khan had challenged the KP Ehtesab Commission Act in the PHC. The PTI-led provincial government had passed the law for eradication of corruption in the province and father of the PTI MPA was made the first victim of the law.
The petitioner is on eight days physical custody of the provincial Ehtesab Commission, who was arrested for grabbing 150 kanal of state land in Kohat district valued at Rs250 million.A two-member bench comprising Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani and Justice Lal Jan Khattak issued notices to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and federal government. They were asked to submit replies in the petition.
The governments were asked to explain position about the legal questions raised in the petition as to whether the act was a parallel law of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999. The petitioner’s lawyer, Aminur Rehman Yousafzai, submitted before the bench that enactment of the KP Ehtesab Commission Act, 2014 in the presence of NAO 1999 and Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), 1947 was in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
“The act is in conflict with NAO, 1999 as well as ACE, 1947, therefore, keeping in view cardinal principle of interpretation/justice, even otherwise, in such eventuality, when the provincial legislation, as a whole or part whereof, proved in conflict to the federal legislation, the later will prevail,’ said the petition.
It was added that under Article-8 of the Constitution, laws inconsistent with fundamental rights be void, similarly, under Article-227, any law repugnant to the injunctions of Islam, would be of no means.
Keeping in view of facts and circumstances of the case and vires of KP Ehtesab Act No.1 of 2014, he said it can safely be concluded that the basic enactment is in contravention of objective resolution (Article 2-A), fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution (Article-8) and Islamic provisions (Article-227), therefore, liable to be set at naught.
He further added that the charges leveled against the petitioner are not commensurate to the role attributed to him, rather role of detenue does not constitute any offence under the KP Ehtesab Act No.1 of 2014, rather the so-called allegations could not be termed offence, within the meaning of PPC or any other law/rules, enforced for the time being. He submitted that the entire proceedings, right from arrest to date are corum non judice and carry no legal weight.