SC's July 12 order transgressed limits of judicial power | The Express Tribune
Key Takeaways
- The Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench invalidated a prior majority judgment concerning PTI's reserved seats.
- The ruling stated the July 12 judgment ignored the 'will of people' and the 'command of the Constitution'.
- The court found that the previous order improperly usurped the electorate's power over indirectly elected reserved seats.
- The judgment accused the previous bench of transgressing judicial limits and violating the separation of powers doctrine.
- The detailed ruling accepted review petitions filed by the ECP, PML-N, and other parties against the initial order.
The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court issued a detailed 40-page judgment accepting review petitions against the July 12, 2024, order which had granted reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following the February 8 general election. The bench strongly criticized the previous majority judgment, asserting it ignored the 'will of people' and the 'command of the Constitution' by taking control of the allocation of reserved seats, which are based on proportional representation. The judgment noted that the previous court action deprived the people of their indirect mandate for these seats, effectively making them a gift from party leadership. Furthermore, the bench stated that setting new timelines with retrospective effect was the exclusive domain of the legislature, and by issuing such directives, the Court transgressed the limits of judicial power and violated Article 175(2) of the Constitution. The detailed ruling emphasized that while the judiciary has absolute authority to interpret law, it cannot rewrite the Constitution or usurp the authority delegated by the people to the legislature.
