ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday overturning the order of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reinstated Adil Bazai as a member of the National Assembly.
The court accepted Adil Bazai’s appeal against the ECP’s ruling to de-seat him and declared the commission’s decision null and void.
A three member bench headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justices Ayesha Malik and Aqeel Abbasi heard the case.
During the hearing, Justice Ayesha Malik questioned whether the Election Commission had conducted any inquiry to verify the facts of the case.
“This cannot be a matter of simply de-seating someone upon receiving a letter from a senior official,” remarked Justice Aqeel Abbasi.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah added, “There must be strict criteria before disenfranchising an entire constituency.”
Counsel for Adil Bazai, Sardar Taimur told the court that the matter reaches the ECP one day, and proceedings begin the next.
We went to the Balochistan High Court requesting access to relevant documents but our request was denied, Taimur told the court.
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He further claimed that a statement of allegiance to the PML-N was being cited against his client without providing him access to the document.
“When we asked for the document, we were told it was classified,” he added.
Justice Ayesha Malik also questioned the ECP’s decision-making process, asking, “What authority did the commission have to accept one affidavit without an inquiry and dismiss the other?”
The court summoned the ECP’s Director General (Law) to clarify the matter. Justice Ayesha Malik pressed, “Two affidavits were submitted—one affirming and the other denying the allegiance. How was one deemed correct without investigation?”
Adil Bazai, who was elected as an independent candidate but later joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), was de-seated earlier under Article 63-A of the Constitution on the request of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif for ‘floor crossing’.