The case is being heard by a seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Prashant Isa and consisting of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
Live coverage of the case hearings is available on SC’s YouTube channel and website. The plaintiff Sajjadul Hassan’s attorney, Khurram Raza, questioned the legal framework in which the appeals are being handled.
The court is hearing appeals under 184-3 or 187 section of the constitution of Pakistan, he asked. Plead your case don’t repeat please, CJP Qazi Faez Isa asked Khurram Raza.
CJP said here the question arises if SC enjoys powers under Article 62-1F. The top judge said a candidate is disqualified over nomination papers. How can one be disqualified for life, he remarked.
CJP observed that dictators amended the constitution of Pakistan and put conditions on Sadiq and Ameen for Parliamentarians. Why they did not place the same conditions on them for contesting elections?
CJP Hints at Concluding Lifetime Disqualification Case at Next Hearing
Last hearing
During the last hearing of the case on January 2, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan urged the bench to reconsider its decision on lifetime disqualification.
At this, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Isa questioned whether the amended Election Act 2017 or the Supreme Court’s verdict on lifetime disqualification should prevail.
The AGP supported the Election Act 2017 but asserted that the lifetime disqualification would remain effective unless the Supreme Court’s verdict changed.
Justice Shah queried the possibility of amending the Constitution through simple legislation and whether a constitutional amendment was necessary.
Addressing the difference between Articles 62 and 63, CJP Isa asked AGP Mansoor Usman Awan. The AGP explained that Article 62 deals with the eligibility of parliamentarians, while Article 63 is related to disqualification.
The Lifetime Disqualification Matter
In 2018, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that disqualification handed down under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution is for life.
Under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution of Pakistan, which sets the precondition for a member of parliament to be ‘sadiq and ameen’ (honest and righteous), former prime minister and PMLN chief Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the SC bench on July 28, 2017, in references about the Panama Papers.
Later, an accountability court awarded him 10 years imprisonment in the Avenfield apartments and seven years in Al-Azizia references.
Similarly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was also disqualified under the same article in the Toshakhana case in 2023.
However, in June, last year, the then-coalition government passed an amendment to the Elections Act 2017, which limited the disqualification of lawmakers to five years.