ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court is likely to take up the interpretation of Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution to determine whether disqualification of lawmakers under the law is for life and for the purpose a larger bench will be constituted which would take up the cases of several parliamentarians, reported a local English daily.
The report said that the apex court would deliberate and decide on the matter before the general elections.
Legal experts believe that the proceedings on the matter will be significant as it will decide the fate of several parliamentarians, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen, who have been disqualified under the said article.
Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution states, “A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate and honest and Ameen.”
A person convicted in a criminal case would be barred for five years after imprisonment; one convicted under the NAB Ordinance would be disqualified for 10 years after his release; and in a contempt case, an individual would be disqualified for five years.
However, it is interesting to mention that a person giving a false statement before the court or concealing his assets’ details in nomination papers would be disqualified for the rest of his life.
