Reserved seats case: Full court bench formed to hear SIC plea on June 3

ISLAMABAD: A 13-member full-court bench of the Supreme Court has been formed to hear the plea challenging the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict that denied the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) reserved seats.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will head the bench while Justice Musarrat Hilali will miss the hearing due to illness.

Apex court has fixed the case for hearing on June 3.

On May 6, the Supreme Court (SC) suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict on the allocation of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) reserved seats.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah heard the appeal filed in the Supreme Court for the reserved seats of SIC.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that the case has been fixed for hearing and “we are suspending the ECP and PHC verdicts.” Justice Mansoor Shah said that today’s suspension verdict only applies to the allocation of additional seats. He emphasized that the people’s mandate should be represented correctly in Parliament.

Lawyer Faisal Siddiqui appeared before the court today as the SIC counsel, while Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan and an ECP official were also summoned during the hearing.

On behalf of the federal government, the Additional Attorney General said that only the larger bench could hear the appeals, but the court rejected the objection on the bench.