- AG says constitution does not determine duration of disqualification period under Article 62(1)(f)
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday reserved verdict in the case pertaining to the determination of disqualification period of a lawmaker under Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution.
Article 62(1)(f), which sets the precondition for a member of parliament to be “sadiq and ameen” (honest and righteous), is the same provision under which Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by a five-judge SC bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on July 28, 2017, in the Panama Papers case. Likewise, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen was disqualified on Dec 15 last year by a separate bench of the apex court under the same provision.
A five-member bench of the apex court ─ headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah ─ reserved the verdict in all 17 appeals against the disqualification of lawmakers.
The verdict was reserved after Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf completed his arguments.
Ashtar Ausaf Ali argued that in some instances, the stigma of disqualification of lawmakers continues even after their death. He said further that the declaration of disqualification by the court cannot end on its own, adding that parliament should be left to decide the duration of a lawmaker’s disqualification.
Justice Ejazul Ahsan remarked that the relevant forum and court can remove the stain of disqualification, adding that until then, the disqualification will continue.
Moreover, the court observed that the disqualification will continue for as long as the declaration [signed by electoral candidates declaring them honest] holds, adding that the 18th Amendment, passed in 2010, did not determine a time period for disqualification.
“If a crime has been committed, the provision applies for life,” Justice Ejazul Ahsan said.
During the hearing, when the chief justice asked if the declaration of honesty expires on its own after some time, he was told that it doesn’t.
“The Constitution does not determine the length of the disqualification period under Article 62(1)(f),” Ausaf said in his concluding arguments, adding that the court would have to look into the matter on a case to case basis.
It is pertinent to mention that four of the aforementioned judges, excluding Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, have given either observations or judgments in the disqualification cases of Nawaz Sharif and PTI leaders Imran Khan and Jahangir Tareen.
During the last hearing on Monday, Chief Justice Nisar imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf after the latter failed to appear in court, in spite of repeated orders.
Earlier on February 8, during the hearing of the case, the SC Chief Justice Saqib Nisar admitted to complexity in the Article 62(1)(f) and said it was difficult to interpret the article, let alone its annulment.
Late Asma Jahangir appeared before the bench as Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf’s (PTI) disqualified lawmaker Rai Hasan Nawaz’s counsel.
She had argued that for voters, the questions of eligibility and qualification do not matter and said that parliament should decide political matters, not any other institution. She had also pleaded that Articles 62 and 63 are joined and should be considered one whereas the disqualification period should be kept at 5 years.
No adjournment for attorney general:
Separately, AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali told the SC that he had to visit London’s Crown Court for an international arbitration case. However, the CJP stopped him form leaving citing a number of pending cases in the SC.
“You cannot abandon all the cases that are pending and leave for the UK,” the CJP declared.
Ali said he would cancel his trip if the court wished him to do so.
“I’m telling you to stay in Pakistan,” the CJP said. “You can’t go anywhere.”
‘SADIQ AND AMEEN’:
Article 62(1)(f) reads: “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, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law.”
On December 15, last year, the Supreme Court had disqualified Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jahangir Tareen for failing to declare an offshore company and a foreign property in his election nomination papers.
Similarly, then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on July 28, 2017, for concealing in his nomination papers the receivable income from his son’s company in UAE.