SC to announce verdict in poll suo motu tomorrow

SC to announce verdict in poll suo motu tomorrow. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has reserved the verdict in the suo motu notice taken over the poll date of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, with the decision all set to be announced tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

Headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, a five-member bench comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail conducted the hearings for two successive days.

“I would like to thank all the lawyers who have assisted us throughout the hearings. I cannot say when will we be back [to announce the verdict],” the CJP said after the parties involved in the case wrapped up their arguments.

Although the verdict was expected today, the CJP’s secretary said that the decision will be unveiled tomorrow.

The SC had also earlier today asked the political parties — the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the ruling alliance — to agree upon a mutual date for the elections, but they could not reach a consensus. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) lawyer asked the court to continue the proceedings as the coalition partners needed more time to consult with each other.

Read more: Supreme Court reports decline in pending cases

The top court had taken the suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the elections of the two assemblies, on February 23, following President Arif Alvi’s announcement of the date of polls, a move that drew strong criticism from the government

As per the CJP, the suo motu notice had been taken to assess who was eligible to issue the date for polls and who had the constitutional responsibility of conducting elections and when.

A nine-member larger bench was constituted initially to hear the case but the bench was reconstituted after four judges of the bench recused themselves.

The judges that recused themselves were Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Yahya Afridi.

Meanwhile, the ruling alliance — PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) — also withdrew their plea for the formation seeking a full court bench after the reconstitution of the bench hearing the case.