Gilani’s plea rejected: If you have majority, remove chairman through no-trust, says IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday declared PPP leader Yusuf Raza Gilani’s plea, challenging Sadiq Sanjrani’s victory as chairman Senate, non-maintainable.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday remarked that parliamentary proceedings had constitutional exemptions. During the hearing, IHC chief justice remarked that parliament was to address big issues of the country and wondered if it was unable to solve its own matters. Should courts interfere into the parliamentary affairs, he questioned. Courts used to take care of supremacy of the parliament, he added.

Gilani's lawyer Farooq H Naek pleaded that the Senate chairman elections were not part of the parliamentary proceedings, adding voters were told by the presiding officer to mark stamp anywhere within the box. He said the presiding officer had rejected seven votes of Gilani on the basis of stamps in box of candidate’s name on the ballot papers. The chief justice asked whether Gilani had majority in the upper house. To this the lawyer answered in 'yes'.

At this, the court said then Gilani could remove the Senate chairman with his majority and asked whether there was any alternate forum under the law for petitioner. Naek said the petitioner had no other alternate forum, only the court could decide the matter pertaining to votes rejections.

To another query, Naek said the presiding officer was appointed by the president and Senate chairman had no role in it. There was no procedure to explain the way of stamping ballot papers, he said.

The lawyer said the decision of the presiding officer could be challenged before the court, adding they had just challenged the electoral process. He, however, said Senate chairman could be removed only through the vote of no confidence.

The petitioner's counsel said the scenario in Senate deputy chairman election was different. No parliamentary committee had powers to remove Senate chairman, he said while answering a bench's question.

The petitioner's lawyer pleaded before the bench that the Senate elections were held on March 12, in which Sadiq Sanjrani had been declared as Senate chairman after rejecting the seven votes of his client by the presiding officer.

To a query by the bench, the lawyer said the elections were conducted under Article 60 of the Constitution. He read out the said article before the bench on its instructions and argued that Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah from GDA had been appointed as presiding officer.

To a question by the court, Naek said no one was the part of elections process from Election Commission of Pakistan. He further said it was not mentioned in the rules that how the vote would be marked. After listening to arguments, the court reserved its judgment and later declared the petition as non-maintainable.

Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that his party believes in the supremacy of the Constitution and the Parliament but polling process at a polling station cannot be described as parliamentary proceedings.

“The PDM candidate Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani had challenged the decision of a Presiding Officer of the Polling Station in the Senate Hall. This Presiding Officer had rejected 7 votes identifying them as the ones obtained by Yusuf Raza Gilani,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bilawal said the PPP would exercise its legitimate right to go to an elevated forum for seeking justice under the principle that a Presiding Officer of a polling station has no right to engineer the polling process and results. “Though the Constitution bars calling into question the proceedings of the Parliament, however, this was not a proceeding of the Parliament,” he added.

Bilawal said that theft of Senate chairman elections through foul play by a Presiding Officer was a litmus test for the system as it may get replicated in the future thus undermining the very credibility of the democratic institutions.

He further said that PPP had the constitutional right to knock available forums and this electoral theft won’t be allowed to sustain. “Insha Allah, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani would become Senate chairman because he is the genuinely and legally elected chairman,” he said.