Asad Umar questions ECP’s power to initiate contempt proceedings

RAWALPINDI: PTI Secretary General Asad Umar has pleaded before the Supreme Court that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had no business to punish someone under contempt of court rules since it’s neither a court nor a tribunal.

“The preliminary questions requiring consideration and the decision by the Supreme Court is whether in the wake of Article 204 and Article 175A of the Constitution as well as judgements of the apex court where it had been held that the ECP is neither a court nor a tribunal, could Section 10 of Election Act 2017, give power and authority to the commission, the chairman and its members to be a court or judges of the high court,” argued a reply moved by Asad Umar though his counsel Anwar Mansoor.

A three-judge SC bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial received the reply one day before the hearing of ECP’s petition was to begin. Instead of defending the commission’s decision to file contempt charges against PTI leaders in various high courts, the ECP has asked the supreme court to combine and transfer all six challenges currently pending before various high courts to its contempt notices against PTI leaders.

The ECP had during August and September issued contempt notices, in exercise of its powers of contempt, against PTI chief Imran Khan and party leaders Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Mian Shabbir Ismail and Danial Khalid Khokhar for allegedly using ‘intemperate’ language against the chief election commissioner (CEC) and ECP and asked them to appear in person or through their counsels before the commission to explain their position.

However, the PTI leaders chose not to appear before the ECP and instead challenged the ECP notices and contempt proceedings in various high courts on the grounds that Section 10 of the Elections Act 2017, which is the statute governing the commission’s authority to punish for contempt, was unconstitutional.

In his reply before the apex court, Asad Umar argued that implementation of Section 10 of the Elections Act would amount to an action detrimental to life, liberty, body and reputation and also to acting in a manner prohibited by the Constitution.