Islamabad :
The court proceedings in the case of self-notice regarding the rolling of the Deputy Speaker have been completed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The verdict will be announced at 7.30 am.
Chief Justice Omar Ata Bandial while giving remarks said that one thing is clear that rolling is wrong, we have to see what will happen next, we also have to look at the national interest, even if the National Assembly is restored, there is no stability in the country. Yes, the country needs stability, the opposition also says stability.
A five-member larger bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan heard the suo motu notice regarding the rolling of the Deputy Speaker. Advocate General Punjab told the court that all the MPAs in a private hotel last night made Hamza Shahbaz Chief Minister. Former Governor will take oath from Hamza Shahbaz in Bagh Jinnah today. Hamza Shahbaz has also called a meeting of bureaucrats today. The constitution is a trivial matter for them. Chief Justice Omar Ata Bandial remarked that he would not issue any order regarding Punjab, take the matter of Punjab to the High Court.
Justice Mazhar Alam said that the doors of the Punjab Assembly were sealed yesterday. Can the Assembly be sealed like this? PML-N lawyer Azam Nazir Tarar said that the members of the Provincial Assembly are the representatives of the people. The Chief Justice remarked that he did not want to divert attention from the case of the National Assembly. He removed Azam Nazir Tarar and Advocate General Punjab from the rostrum.
Justice Jamal Mandokhel asked if the Prime Minister is not the representative of the whole nation. On which the lawyer of the President Ali Zafar said that the Prime Minister is undoubtedly the representative of the people. Justice Mazhar Alam asked if there would be any violation of the constitution in the parliament. Isn’t the court the guardian of the constitution? Justice Jamal Mandokhel asked, “If anyone is affected by the parliamentary proceedings, how can there be justice?” If there is no justice, will the court remain silent? On this, Ali Zafar said that the protection of the constitution can be done only in accordance with the constitution. If the parliament fails then the matter goes to the people. For the protection of the constitution every article has to be taken into consideration.
The Chief Justice inquired what would happen if the abuse was from the entire House instead of a single member? On this, lawyer Ali Zafar said that if there is a difference of opinion among the judges, can the parliament intervene? Just as parliament cannot intervene, so can the judiciary. The Chief Justice asked whether the formation of the federal government was an internal matter of Parliament. On this, Ali Zafar said that the court can review the formation of the government and dissolution of the assembly, the court cannot review both the election of the Prime Minister and the no-confidence motion.
Ali Zafar, counsel for the President, referred to the verdict in the Junejo case. Ali Zafar said that Muhammad Khan Junejo’s government was overthrown, the court declared the overthrow of Junejo’s government unconstitutional, the court did not take action after the dissolution of the assembly. Justice Mazhar Alam said that the matter before us is a matter of no-confidence. Rolling came after no-confidence. Ali Zafar said that here also the assembly was dissolved and elections were declared.
Chief Justice asked lawyer Ali Zafar why you do not say what is the constitutional crisis? If everything is going according to the constitution then where is the constitutional crisis? To which Ali Zafar said that my request is that there is no constitutional crisis in the country, the announcement of the election shows that the government’s move was not malicious.
Justice Jamal Mandokhel asked if the majority of the assembly does not want to dissolve then can the Prime Minister recommend to the President? The court asked that despite the deviant members, the PTI is the majority party, what will happen if the majority party is out of the system? Lawyer Ali Zafar said that as a lawyer he could not answer the political issue.
Prime Minister’s lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui argued that the proceedings of the House were beyond the jurisdiction of the judiciary and asked the court to clean up its own mess. The Chief Justice remarked that by calling for elections, the country is left helpless for 90 days. If a coalition government is formed, is it possible for the largest party to be walled off? It was said that Rolling could not come after the Leo Grant. The petitioners are of the view that Rolling could have come before the motion of no-confidence was moved on March 28. What would you say on this issue?
Lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui said that the opposition had not objected to the presidency of the Deputy Speaker. The Deputy Speaker decided what he thought was best. The Chief Justice said that the law is that the court will decide the privilege of parliamentary proceedings, the court will review the extent to which the proceedings are privileged. Lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui said that if the speaker knows that there is external funding or the national integrity is threatened then he will save the country even outside the law. The speaker made a better decision according to his oath Is.
Imtiaz Siddiqui told the court that if Article 69 is read in conjunction with Article 127, then the parliamentary proceedings have full protection. The Supreme Court cannot interfere in the proceedings of Parliament under Article 69. Justice Muneeb Akhtar said that the Supreme Court was not bound to abide by the decisions cited. Lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui said, “Sorry, my lord, you are bound by the decision of the 7-member bench.” Justice Muneeb Akhtar said that
The judgments cited include observations; the court is not bound by the observations made in the judgments.
Prime Minister Imtiaz Siddiqui said that the Supreme Court could not interfere in the proceedings of the Parliament under Article 69. The Deputy Speaker relied on the National Security Committee and said that there could be no influence on the National Security Committee. The Chief Justice inquired whether the Deputy Speaker had any material available on the basis of which he gave rolling. Was the rolling of the Deputy Speaker based on good faith? When were the minutes of the National Security Committee placed before the Deputy Speaker? On which lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui said that he did not know about the issue of Deputy Speaker. The Chief Justice remarked, “Don’t talk about what you don’t know. According to you, the Deputy Speaker had the material on the day of voting which he gave a roll call. The Prime Minister broke the limits of Article 58. What will be the consequences?” The Deputy Speaker had no problem with the voting on March 28, rolling came on the day of voting.
Question Hour was cited by Lawyer Naeem Bukhari. Naeem Bukhari said that all the opposition members said don’t ask questions, just vote. In this noisy drunkenness, the Deputy Speaker adjourned the meeting. So the results will not be good. The Chief Justice inquired as per the record that 11 people had participated in the parliamentary committee on national security. Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan asked who had given the briefing to the parliamentary committee. The names of those briefing the parliamentary committee are not included in the meeting minutes.
Justice Mazhar Alam said that the proceedings of the parliament lasted for two or three minutes with great difficulty. The Chief Justice asked whether the opposition should not have been given a chance at the point of order. Justice Jamal Khan inquired that the rolling was given by the Deputy Speaker, the signature of the rolling belongs to the Speaker. Lawyer Naeem Bukhari said that the document presented is probably not original. Justice Mazhar Alam said that it seems that the Deputy Speaker had received a written request to read this.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel asked the Attorney General whether this is your last case, to which the Attorney General said that if you wish, I accept it. Justice Jamal Khan said that the Attorney General should listen to the whole matter, we want you to come and give arguments in the case. The Attorney General said in his arguments that he would not be able to give the details of the National Security Committee meeting in open court, the court can decide without questioning anyone’s loyalty. Be prepared to brief the National Security Committee on these in-camera hearings.
The Attorney General said that the Prime Minister is the biggest stakeholder, therefore he has the power to dissolve the Assembly. It is not necessary to give reasons to the Prime Minister for dissolving the Assembly. Yes, the government is formed in the House, the Constitution does not speak of the members of the House 5 year term, the Prime Minister’s option to dissolve the Assembly in the UK has been removed, in our Constitution to dissolve the Prime Minister’s Assembly Option is available.
In his arguments, the Attorney General said that voting on no-confidence motion was not a fundamental right of any member. The right to vote is subject to the Constitution and Assembly Rules. The Chief Justice asked, “Are you saying that the no-confidence motion is subject to voting rules?” On which the Attorney General said that all proceedings including no-confidence motion are in accordance with the rules. Parliamentary proceedings are not considered as complete exception as there is a wall of fire. The court may intervene if the speaker announces the low-voter to become prime minister.
The Attorney General said that the Leader of the Opposition is also present, take suggestions from the Opposition, the current mandate is for the Assembly of 2018, how strong it will be if someone forms a government today. The court summoned the opposition leader to the rostrum. The Chief Justice said that there is no money left for electricity and other facilities in Sri Lanka, today the rupee has depreciated, it has reached ڈالر 190, we need a strong government, it will be a very difficult task for the Leader of the Opposition.
Shahbaz Sharif said that he respects the judiciary very much, I am a common man, I will not speak legally, it is an honor for me to appear before the court. The no-confidence motion will be revived. The constitution has been violated many times in our history. This has happened due to non-ratification and punishment of the blunders. Restore the parliament in the name of Allah and Pakistan. Be allowed to vote on
League leader Hanma Shahbaz Sharif said that as Leader of the Opposition offered Chartered of Economics, the dollar was Rs 125 in 2018, now it has reached 190 190, Parliament should do its job, Members of Parliament should be allowed to decide. The PTI had also formed a government with the allies. In its first speech, it had talked about the Charter of Economy. I will not, even today I say sign the Charter of Economy. The court reserved judgment after the parties had completed their arguments.
