Islamabad: Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandyal issued a notice to all political parties including the government on the delay in the elections in Punjab and KP. He said that as per the constitution, the elections should be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the assemblies. Any violation will not be tolerated.
According to sources, a nine-member bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial heard the case of self-notice on elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoon.
The bench consisted of Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Yahya Khan Afridi, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Athar Manullah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandukhel.
The Chief Justice said that tomorrow we will be limited to only a few essential matters, and we will hear the case in detail on Monday. Article 224 says that elections will be held in 90 days, time is passing quickly, and the matter is pending in the High Court. Unfortunately, no decision is being made.
The Chief Justice said that Section 57 is related to the date of elections, and many new points have come to that need to be interpreted. The Supreme Court will not tolerate violation of the Constitution, if there are very serious circumstances, the time of elections can be extended. But Yes, we want to see the constitution get implemented.
The court said that according to the constitution, the elections are to be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the assemblies. In the notice itself, some questions were raised related to Election Commission Acts 27 and 28, including Justice Athar Minullah’s questio. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till tomorrow.