SC nullifies PHC verdict denying Sunni Ittehad Council reserved seats

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has announced a reserved verdict on a case concerning the reserved seats of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) today.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, part of the three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, announced the 8-5 majority verdict, nullifying the Peshawar High Court’s order wherein it had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision denying the reserved seats to the SIC.

The bench accepted Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition and ruled that the party is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats.

It said that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision was in violation of the Constitution.

The court asked the PTI to provide list of names for the reserved seats within 15 days.

Earlier, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has reserved its verdict in the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea against the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict upholding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision denying them the reserved seats.

During the last couple of days, the top court’s 13-member full bench held two special sessions under the chair of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

The case was heard by a 13-member full court bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

The bench comprised Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.