SC verdict on SIC reserved seats tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court judges completed their second day of consultations after a 13-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, reserved a verdict on a set of appeals by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), challenging the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decisions, which dened seats reserved for women and non-Muslims to the SIC.

Sources saidthat all 13 judges of the full court participated in the discussion.

The reserved judgment on the Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition regarding reserved seats will be announced tomorrow at 9am in the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will deliver the brief order on the reserved seats. A cause list has been issued in this regard.

On July 9, the Supreme Court reserved the judgment on the Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition concerning reserved seats. Earlier, the chief justice had said that they would consult among themselves before the announcement of the judgment and could not say anything about when the decision would be announced.

On Wednesday, the full court bench deliberated for around two hours, with the reserved ruling anticipated within a day or two. The Supreme Court had reserved its ruling on Tuesday.

Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had noted that the court’s decision might take longer as the judges needed to consult each other further.

Previously, on May 6, a smaller bench had suspended the PHC verdict and ECP decision, which deprived the SIC of reserved seats for women and minorities.

Subsequently, on May 13, the ECP suspended the notifications of 77 returned candidates on reserved seats in the assemblies.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Athar Minallah emphasised that the Constitution is founded on the principle of self-governance, with the right to vote being paramount.

Justice Minallah questioned why the ECP was reluctant to demonstrate that it had made its best efforts to conduct fair elections.

The full court is expected to issue a comprehensive ruling on the allocation of reserved seats to parliamentary parties under the proportional representation system in the future.

On Wednesday, the judges extensively considered various aspects of the case, recognising its potential to significantly impact the allocation of reserved seats among political parties in the legislature.

Legal experts highlight the importance of a careful and meticulous decision, given the case’s historic significance.

A legal expert, speaking anonymously, suggested that a split decision might be likely, with each member of the full court potentially providing separate opinions and additional notes alongside the main judgment.

Fate of 77 Seats in the Balance

The central issue before the court is how to manage the reserved seats if they are neither allocated to other parties present in parliament and provincial assemblies nor granted to the SIC, which did not contest the February 8 general elections and therefore did not secure any seats—a requirement for reserved seat allocation according to the ECP.

The SIC contends that, under the proportional representation system, it is not constitutionally required for a political party to have contested the general elections to be allocated reserved seats.