Hamza case: LHC CJ observes SC order does not apply to events held in past

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti has remarked that the punishment of the dissident members has been mentioned in the constitution observing that the vote of the dissident members will not be counted if voting will be pending, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

LHC Chief Justice Bhatti on Monday was hearing petitions challenging the election of Hamza Shehbaz as Punjab chief minister and his oat-taking. 

While giving his observation, the CJ remarked that the Supreme Court short order specified that votes of the dissident members would not be counted if the voting was pending. 

“If we apply this order on past cases then it means that all decisions will be reversed,” CJ Bhatti added.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz submitted his 16-page reply to the court in which he insisted that his election was held in accordance with the rules and constitution of the country. 

He held that the election for the chief minister was held before the interpretation of Article 63-A by the Supreme Court and the interpretation did not affect the election.

He further stated that the investigation related to the election by the former governor was illegal and the Punjab Assembly secretary, too, had no jurisdiction to inquire into the election.

Hamza requested the court to dismiss petitions against his election after imposing a fine on the petitioners.

Additional Advocate General Ch Jawad Yaqoob and Assistant Advocate General Barrister Hassan Khalid Ranjha appeared before the court on behalf of the Punjab government. 

During its previous hearing, the Lahore High Court imposed a fine of Rs100,000 each on CM Punjab Hamza Shehbaz, chief secretary and Punjab Assembly deputy speaker for not submitting their replies to the court in the case.  

Today, the government law officers submitted replies from the defendants.

However, AAG Yaqoob told the court that though the chief secretary was willing to pay his fine but he requested the CJ to not make it a part of court record as chief secretary was a government official and his record would be sullied. 

The court, however, accepted his request.  

Then CJ Bhatti asked the lawyers of petitioners to continue their arguments. 

While presenting his arguments, PTI lawyer Ali Zafar said that the votes of the dissident MPAs would not be considered in the light of recent Supreme Court’s ruling. He contended that Hamza had lost support of the majority members in the Punjab Assembly when the election Commission of Pakistan de-notified 25 rebel PTI MPAs. 

Barrister Zafar said that he was unable to understand what the Supreme Court had actually ordered. Will the SC interpretation apply to the events already held in past, he was unfazed. 

The chief justice, however, remarked that if the SC ruling applied to past cases then all decisions would be reversed. He observed that the Election Commission de-notified dissident MPAs so the court was actually hearing the ECP decision. 

The PTI lawyer, however, contended that no one should be allowed to take advantage of the lawlessness.

After hearing the arguments, the chief justice adjourned the case till tomorrow.

Reporter Malik Ashraf