| Citation(s) |
|---|
| 2025 SLG 4911 2025 SLD 4911 = 2025 SCP 360 |
Civil Review Petition No.312/2024 in C.A. No.333/2024 & Civil Review Petition No.313/2024 in C.A. No.334/2024 & Civil Review Petition No.319/2024 in C.A. No.333/2024 & Civil Review Petition No.320/2024 in C.A. No.334/2024 & Civil Review Petition No.331/2024 in C.A. No.333/2024 & Civil Review Petition No.332/2024 in C.A. No.334/2024 (For review of judgment of this court dated 12.07.2024 passed in C.A.No.333 & 334 of 2024)
Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Senior Judge Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi Justice Musarrat Hilali Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar Justice Aamer Farooq Justice Ali Baqar Najafi
Mr. Sajeel Sheryar Swati, ASC Mr. Anis Muhammad Shahzad, AOR (in CRPs.312 & 319/2024)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Makhdoom Ali Khan, Sr. ASC Mr. Saad Mumtaz Hashmi, ASC Assisted by Yawar Mukhtar, Advocate (CRPs. 312 & 1272/24) Barrister Haris Azmat, ASC assisted by M/s. Qasim Sheikh and Awais Anwar, Advocates (CRP.313/2024) Mr. Asad Abbasi, ASC (on behalf of Mr. Farooq H. Naek, Sr. ASC) (CRPs. 319 & 320/24) Mr. Sikandar Bashir Mohmand, ASC Mr. Taimoor Aslam Khan, ASC Assisted by M/s Hamza Azmat Khan, Abdullah Noor and Barrister Khizer Hayat Advocates Syed Rifaqat Hussain Shah, AOR Mr. M. Arshad, Spl. Secy. (Law) Mr. Zafar Iqbal, Spl Secy. Mr. Khurram Shehzad, ADG (Law) Mr. Yasir Ali Raja, Dir. (Law) Mr. Asad Ali, Dy. Dir. (Law) Ms. Saima Tariq Janjua, Dy. Dir. (Law) (CRPs.331, 332 & 1264/24) For the Respondents: For Sunni Ittehad Council: Mr. Hamid Khan, Sr. ASC Mr. Ajmal Ghaffar Toor, ASC (in CRPs.1264/2024) Mr. Faisal Siddiqui, ASC assisted by Mr. Muhammad Ammar Rafique, Advocate Ms. Tehmina Ambreen, AOR (in CRPs.312, 313, 320, 331, 332 & 1272/24) Mr. Salman Akram Raja, ASC assisted by M/s. Raja Hamza Anwar, Atira Ikram, Wanya Qureshi, Muhammad Ali Talib, Muhammad Hamza Aslam, Malik Ahsan Mehmood and Malik Ghulam Sabir Advocates (in CRPs.319/24)
Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973
Section: 51(6)(d-e),106(3)(c), 187, 225
Law: Elections Act, 2017
Section: 57, 60, 62, 64, 67, 98, 104
Law: Supreme Court Rules, 1980
Section: 188
Tagline : Order of dismissal of review petitions in reserved seats case titled Sunni Ittehad Council v. Election Commission of Pakistan.
Summary
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, through a Constitutional Bench led by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, dismissed initial review petitions outright but later, by a majority of 7 judges, allowed review petitions filed by PML-N, PPPP, and ECP against the 12.07.2024 majority judgment in Sunni Ittehad Council v. ECP (PLD 2025 SC 67). This set aside declarations granting PTI reserved seats for women and non-Muslims, restored the Peshawar High Court judgment upholding ECP's allocation to other parties, and dismissed SIC's original appeals, emphasizing that PTI never sought relief as a party and independents' joining SIC had no constitutional effect on reserved seats. The order highlighted review jurisdiction's limited scope, rejecting re-argumentation, and criticized ECP's partial non-implementation as contemptuous, while noting concerns over bench composition under the 26th Amendment.-
Core Points
- Review petitions succeeded due to errors apparent on record: PTI was not a party, sought no reserved seats before ECP, PHC, or SC, and relief granted violated due process, Article 225 (election petitions mandatory), and timelines in Articles 51/106 provisos (3 days for independents to join parties).-
- SIC's appeals unanimously dismissed earlier; it attained finality as SIC filed no review, had no general election seats or reserved lists, and independents' post-election joining yielded no proportional representation entitlement.-
- Declarations invalidating ECP's Rule 94 Explanation and reallocating 80 seats (39+41) to PTI exceeded jurisdiction, ignored electorate's indirect vote on reserved lists via general seats, and breached separation of powers by retroactively altering statutory deadlines.-
- No notice under Order XXVII-A CPC to AGP for constitutional challenges; Article 187 invoked improperly for non-parties without curative need, quashing elected reserved seat holders' notifications without hearing them as necessary parties.-
- ECP bound to fully implement judgments; partial compliance and review filing reflect political bias, undermining its democratic custodianship.-
Laws and Sections
| Law/Provision | Key Reference | Application in Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Article 51(6)(d-e), Constitution | Proviso for independents joining parties within 3 days post-notification | Timelines mandatory; independents joining SIC post-Section 98 notification had no reserved seat impact as SIC won no general seats. - |
| Article 106(3)(c), Constitution | Similar proviso for provincial assemblies | Applied mutatis mutandis; joining deadlines conditions precedent, unalterable by court. - |
| Article 187, Constitution | Complete justice powers | Invoked erroneously for non-party PTI relief; limited to pending lis, not legislative rewriting of election outcomes. - |
| Article 225, Constitution | Elections questioned only via petitions to tribunals | Violated by judicially unseating reserved winners without petitions; adversarial, not inquisitorial proceedings. - |
| Elections Act, 2017 (Sections 57, 60, 62, 64, 67, 98, 104) | Nomination, scrutiny, lists for general/reserved seats | Deadlines passed; no PTI/SIC reserved lists filed/pre-election electorate scrutiny, rendering post-hoc declarations void. - |
| Election Rules, 2017 (Rule 94 Explanation) | Independent affiliation post-election | Struck without AGP notice; validity left open, but core process finalized pre-judgment. - |
| Article 188, Constitution & Supreme Court Rules | Review jurisdiction | Limited to per incuriam errors; no re-argument, routine filings rejected. - |
| Article 191A & 175A (post-26th Amendment) | Constitutional benches via JCP | Bench composition concerns raised; exclusions of original majority judges questioned for fairness. - |
Ayesha A. Malik, J.- There are three sets of Review Petitions before us filed by the Pakistan Muslim League (N) PML(N), the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) (PPPP) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). All Review Petitions have been filed against the short order dated 09.07.2024 (Short Order) and only the ECP has filed additional grounds through CMA Nos.10150 and 10151 of 2024 which emanate out of the detailed judgment released on 23.09.2024 reported as the Sunni Ittehad Council case (Detailed Judgment).