ISLAMABAD HIGH COURT, BAR ASSOCIATION, ISLAMABAD vs ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN through Chief Election Com

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ISLAMABAD HIGH COURT, BAR ASSOCIATION, ISLAMABAD VS ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN through Chief Election Commissioner, Islamabad arts. 105(3), 107, 112(1), 112(2), 224(1), 224(2) & 184(3)---Elections act (XXXIII of 2017), S. 57(1)---Constitutional petitions and suo motu proceedings regarding holding of General Elections to the Provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa---Maintainability---Petitions/appeals on the same subject matter pending before the High Courts---Held, that the matter of holding a general election to an assembly is constitutionally time bound and moves within a narrow locus in this regard---Holding of the general election is subject to strict temporal constraints---Record of the proceedings of the High Courts showed that while the Single Judge in the Lahore High Court had acted with admirable promptitude the same could not, unfortunately and with all due respect, be said of the Division Bench nor of the Peshawar High Court---Dates of hearing were being given repeatedly and matters were proceeding at what, in the present context, can only be described as a rather relaxed pace---Several weeks had already elapsed---Furthermore, it was almost certain that whatever be the decisions in the High Courts they would be appealed to the Supreme Court---So, the matter would essentially be back where it already was, the only difference being that out of the constitutional time limit several more days (at the very least) if not weeks would be consumed---To insist on present matters being, in effect, returned to the High Courts would be tantamount in the present circumstances to a denial of justice of a matter of high constitutional importance, involving the fundamental rights of the electorate at large and relatable to one of the salient features of the Constitution---Furthermore, the possibility of a difference of opinion between the two High Courts could not be ruled out, with further attendant confusion and delay---all of these factors satisfied the Supreme Court that present matters were fit matters to be proceeded before the Supreme Court directly under article 184(3) notwithstanding the proceedings pending in the High Court---For the Supreme Court to hold its hand and allow for the routine litigation process to play out would, in the facts and circumstances of present proceedings, detract from rather than serve the public interest---Present constitutional petitions and suo motu proceedings were maintainable.

ISLAMABAD HIGH COURT, BAR ASSOCIATION, ISLAMABAD vs ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN through Chief Election Commissioner, Islamabad arts — 2023 PLD 720 SUPREME-COURT

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