The Supreme Court has accepted the review petitions of the PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council in the reserved seats case and annulled its earlier decision issued on July 12.
The four-page short order came through a majority decision by a seven-member bench. With the acceptance of the review petitions, the judgement of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in the case has been upheld. The short order has been signed by 10 judges.
The verdict practically deprives the PTI of the reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies, which would now be divided among ruling parties, including the PPP, PML-N and others. After being allocated the additional reserved seats, the ruling government will enjoy a comfortable two-thirds majority in parliament.
As per an amended part of the decision, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel has upheld his decision to the extent of awarding 39 seats to the PTI. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi also partially approved the review petitions, along with Justice Mandokhel.
Justice Mazhar and Justice Rizvi asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to re-examine the nomination papers to resolve the issue.
Also Read: PHC rejects Sunni Ittehad Council's request for reserved seats
Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Musarat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal, Justice Hashim Kakar, Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ali Baqir Najafi were among the majority judges.
A detailed judgement, as well as the details of Justice Mandokhel’s decision, will be issued later. The court had earlier today reserved its verdict in the case.
The Peshawar High Court had upheld the election commission’s decision by not declaring the Sunni Ittehad Council entitled to reserved seats. Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Aqeel Abbasi had already rejected the review petitions.
Supreme Court ruling restores 77 reserved seats
Following the decision, 77 reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies have been restored. The verdict reinstates the Election Commission of Pakistan’s earlier decision to allocate these reserved seats to the ruling coalition, which now regains 22 seats in the National Assembly and 55 in the provincial assemblies.
National Assembly reserved seats:
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Women’s seats: 19
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Minority seats: 3
Provincial assembly reserved seats:
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly: 21 women, 4 minority seats
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Punjab Assembly: 24 women, 3 minority seats
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Sindh Assembly: 2 women, 1 minority seat
Punjab Assembly latest allocation:
Out of the 24 reserved seats for women and 3 for minorities:
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PML-N will receive 23 seats
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PPP will get 2 seats
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PML-Q and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) will each receive 1 seat
Sindh Assembly allocation:
Of the 3 reserved seats:
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PPP will get 2 seats
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MQM will get 1 seat
Peshawar High Court's March decision
On March 14, the Peshawar High Court had rejected the applications of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) seeking reserved seats and against their division among other political parties. The court's unanimous verdict was read out by bench head Justice Ibrahim. The court stated that it had the authority to hear the case to the extent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa only.
During the hearing on Friday, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan argued that all 80 members initially intended to join Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM). "Had they joined MWM, they would have been entitled to the reserved seats," he said, adding that MWM had already won one seat.
Also Read: Supreme Court declares Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf eligible for reserved seats
Justice Jamal Mandokhail remarked, "It would have been better if they had consulted you beforehand." The Attorney General noted that if the members had joined MWM, there would have been no issue regarding public representation and this case would not have arisen.
PTI leader Kanwal Shauzab appeared on the rostrum. Justice Aminuddin invited her to present her point of view. Justice Mandokhail questioned, "Why did you join the Sunni Ittehad Council instead of PTI?"
Kanwal Shauzab responded, "Our electoral symbol was withdrawn on December 24."
The Attorney General concluded his arguments, after which the court reserved its decision. Justice Aminuddin said the short order will be announced later today.
Earlier in the day, during the hearing, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar recused himself from the 11-member constitutional bench, effectively dissolving the bench.
The court was hearing constitutional and legal arguments regarding the allocation of reserved seats.
A reconstitution of the bench is now expected. Further proceedings in the case will be announced soon.
A major development unfolded at the Supreme Court on Friday during the hearing of the case regarding reserved seats. The 11-member constitutional bench hearing the matter was dissolved after Justice Salahuddin Panhwar recused himself.
Justice Panhwar announced his decision to step down during the court proceedings.
Also Read: Sunni Ittehad Council reserved seats case - a timeline
His recusal came in response to objections raised by senior lawyer Hamid Khan, who yesterday questioned the inclusion of judges appointed after the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Justice Panhwar remarked that his inclusion in the bench was objected to, and he acknowledged his past association with Hamid Khan dating back to 2010. "Your objection deeply hurts me," said Justice Panhwar. "How the objection was raised has compelled me to step aside to uphold the dignity of the court."
Justice Panhwar further noted that lawyers Faisal Siddiqi and Salman Akram Raja had expressed full confidence in the bench.
During the proceedings, members of the bench left the courtroom. Justice Aminuddin Khan asked the participants to wait for ten minutes.
The reconstitution of the bench and further proceedings in the case are now expected in due course.
July 12 verdict of SC
On July 12, the Supreme Court had set aside the Peshawar High Court and election commission verdicts and declared the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) eligible for reserved seats in the case of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
The 8-5 majority verdict was announced by then chief justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, who headed a 13-member full court of the Supreme Court. The proceedings were broadcast live. All the judges recognized the PTI as a legal and competent party.
The Supreme Court declared that the deprivation of an election symbol did not terminate the right of a party to participate in elections. The PTI was and is a political party. The election commission submitted the data of 80 candidates to the Supreme Court.
