The Supreme Court has decided to hear all the cases related to the duration of disqualification together. It has also sought written responses from the election commission, the attorney general for Pakistan and all provincial advocates general on constitutional and legal points.
In the judgement in the Mir Badshah Qaisrani case, the court declared that the pendency in this case will not be used to delay the general elections. The apex court made all these remarks in its written order in the Mir Badshah Qaisrani case related to the disqualification period.
The court will hear all the cases together in the Supreme Court at the start of January.
On the indication of the additional attorney general, the court declared that at least a five-member bench is necessary to hear a case of a constitutional question. The case should be placed before a bench constituted by the judges committee.
According to the written order, the minimum educational qualification for contesting the 2008 general elections was graduation. Some candidates submitted fake degrees, which led to disqualifications and penalties.
According to the petitioner, Mir Badshah Qaisrani, he was sentenced to lifetime disqualification and two-year imprisonment, against which an appeal is pending in Lahore High Court Multan Bench. The petitioner contended that the Election Act 2017 was amended in June 2023 under which the disqualification period has been reduced to five years.
According to the order, the lawyers expressed their lack of knowledge about challenging the amendments to the Elections Act, but pointed out that the contradiction between the Supreme Court's order and the amendments in the Elections Act would create confusion, hence the determination of the period of disqualification before the elections is necessary.
The court issued notices to the election commission, the attorney general for Pakistan and all provincial advocate generals and sought written answers on the constitutional and legal points.
The court clarified that these appeals or the questions raised in the case cannot be used as a pretext for delaying the elections scheduled for February 2024.
