Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) general secretary filed a petition in the Lahore High Court against the controversial Election Act 2017 and re-election of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as the PML-N president, on Saturday.
The petitioner requested the high court to nullify the act which paved way for Sharif to head his party even after his lifetime disqualification in the Panama Papers scandal. The petition further said that the act was bulldozed through the National Assembly in complete violation of the constitution.
Earlier, the LHC, while hearing the petition of similar nature, had observed that it cannot set aside a law merely because it does not conform to moral values.
LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who headed the LHC bench, had said that the court had no objection to admit the petition, but similar cases were already pending in the top court, thus the petitioner should approach the apex court instead.
Ishtiaq Chaudhry of PAT had filed a petition in the high court challenging the Election Bill 2017, a clause of which allows a disqualified lawmaker to hold the office of a political party.
Over half a dozen constitutional petitions have been filed in the apex court and high courts against the Election Bill 2017 so far.