Supreme Court forms bench to hear reserved seats case on Monday

The Supreme Court (SC) has formed a full court bench to hear the case regarding reserved seats for women and minorities, initially filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

Chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, the bench comprises Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar, Yahya Afridi, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Athar Minallah, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, Irfan Saadat Khan, and Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

Scheduled for June 3 (Monday) at 11:30 am, the bench will delve into the case. This litigation stemmed from the SIC’s collaboration with independent candidates supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after their victory in the February 8 elections, following the denial of their party symbol ‘bat.’

In March, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled 4-1 against the SIC, citing “non-curable legal defects” and a failure to submit a mandatory party list for reserved seats. Consequently, seats were reallocated, favoring parties like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

The SIC challenged this decision in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which upheld the ECP’s ruling in March. However, the SC intervened in May, suspending both the PHC and ECP judgments and directing the case to a three-judge committee for bench formation.

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan argued for a larger bench under Section 4 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, citing the constitutional nature of the issue.

Consequently, the ECP suspended victory notifications for 77 lawmakers, affecting the ruling coalition’s majority in the lower house of Parliament. Notably, 22 National Assembly members elected on reserved seats were among those suspended.

The development underscores the legal complexities surrounding reserved seats, impacting parliamentary dynamics and coalition strengths.