Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon on Thursday filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court (SC) against the lifelong disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) estranged leader Jahangir Khan Tareen from holding any public office, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
It is contended in the petition that the sentence of disqualifying a people’s representative for life should only be given in cases involving electoral disputes.
The petition further says that under Article 184/3 of the constitution, the Supreme Court could not act as a trial court because section 3 of the Article denied the right to appeal the court’s decision.
“And that not giving to the aggrieved party the right to appeal in such cases is against the principles of justice. It constitutes the violation of basic human rights of not only the public representative but also of the people who have returned him or her to the legislature,” reads the petition.
Furthermore, it says that the apex court in its verdicts in the cases of Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen had determined the parameters of Article 62 1-F of the constitution. “Truth of the matter is that only that election should be declared null and void which has been challenged under the said Article.
A five-member bench of the SC had had on April 13, 2018 imposed a lifelong ban on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from holding any public office.
Although the court had disqualified Sharif as prime minister over corruption charges last year (July 28, 2017), but it had not mentioned the disqualification period in the verdict.
The five judges in a unanimous ruling said those who are not “honest” and “truthful” under the country’s constitution are “banned from parliament for life.”
Jahangir Khan Tareen, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, was also declared disqualified for life under the judgment.
Reporter Amanat Gishkori