The Supreme Court has annulled the decision to de-seat Adil Bazai, restoring him as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA).

A three-member bench, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, heard the petition filed by Adil Bazai challenging his de-seating from the National Assembly.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court raised questions about the Election Commission’s procedures.

Justice Ayesha Malik inquired, “What inquiry did the commission conduct to verify the facts in the Adil Bazai case?”

Justice Aqeel Abbasi remarked, “Just because a letter from a high-ranking official arrives, they can’t just de-seat someone. That’s not how it works.”

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stated, “The criteria for disenfranchising the voters of an entire constituency should be stringent.”

In response, the petitioner’s lawyer, Sardar Taimoor, said, “The matter reached the Election Commission, and the next day, proceedings were started. We approached the Balochistan High Court to get the relevant documents. We asked for the affidavit claiming affiliation with the PML-N, which was supposedly submitted, but we were not provided with it.”

Justice Ayesha Malik remarked, “The Election Commission has stated that those documents are confidential.”

The court then summoned the Director-General of Law from the Election Commission to the rostrum.

Justice Ayesha Malik asked, “You received two affidavits: one from the winning candidate who claimed it was his, and another from someone who denied it. On what authority did you accept one affidavit as valid without any inquiry? Can the Election Commission simply reject one affidavit and accept another without verification?”

The court’s questions highlighted concerns over the fairness and transparency of the process followed by the Election Commission in de-seating Adil Bazai.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has failed to get the bail of former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, canceled in the Toshakhana-II case.

Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) heard FIA’s petition for the cancellation of Bushra Bibi’s bail in the Toshakhana-II case.

Bushra Bibi appeared before the court along with her lawyer, Salman Safdar, while FIA prosecutor Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi was also present.

The FIA argued that after being granted bail, Bushra Bibi had failed to appear in several hearings in the trial court and was misusing the privilege of her bail. Therefore, the FIA requested the IHC to cancel her bail.

Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb asked, “Where is Bushra Bibi?” In response, Salman Safdar informed the court that she was present in the courtroom.

The court remarked that if Bushra Bibi does not appear in the trial court, the trial court judge has the authority to cancel her bail.

The court added that this would not constitute contempt of court for the high court, as it was the trial court judge’s discretion.

The IHC subsequently disposed of the FIA’s petition seeking the cancellation of Bushra Bibi’s bail in the Toshakhana-II case.

The constitutional bench of Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of petitions filed against the Practice and Procedure Ordinance.

A seven-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, conducted the hearing on the petitions of PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and others.

Justice Aminuddin Khan gave remarks that the Practice and Procedure Ordinance has lapsed and parliament has passed legislation in this regard.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail said that the ordinance is automatically lapsed when the parliament passes legislation on that specific matter.

He added that the constitution of Pakistan authorizes the President to promulgate an ordinance.

Also Read: PTI challenges Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance in Supreme Court

It merits mention here that the Practice and Procedure Ordinance was challenged by Barrister Gohar, Afrasiab Khattak, Ahtisham ul Haq and Akmal Bari.

Earlier, the federal cabinet had approved the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance 2024 which gives more powers to the chief justice.

Under the amendment to the Act, the chief justice of Pakistan can nominate a judge in case of unavailability of a committee member.

The Act provided that the chief justice of Pakistan will constitute a three-member committee “comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan and two next most senior Judges, in order of seniority” to hear “every cause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court.”