LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Saturday scheduled for hearing on July 15, a petition filed against an ordinance promulgated to appoint retired judges on the Election Tribunals.
A single-member LHC bench, comprising Justice Shahid Karim will preside over the hearing of the petition, which has been filed by senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja and others.
The petitioner argues that the Election Ordinance 2024, which designates retired judges to serve as election tribunal members, should be declared illegal and unconstitutional. They contend that appointing these retired judges under the ordinance is not permissible.
Furthermore, the petition requests that retired judges be restrained from forming the election tribunal until a final decision on the petition.
On July 8, President Asif Ali Zardari signed into a law a controversial bill seeking appointment of retired high court judges to election tribunals to settle electoral disputes.
The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2024, empowers the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to appoint retired high court judges to elections tribunals without the need to consult chief justices of the relevant apex courts.
The bill was passed by both the National Assembly on June 28 and Senate on July 4 despite severe protest by the opposition.
A statement from the President House said the bill was approved under Article 75 of the Constitution and now became an act.
“After the amendment, in case of appointment of a serving judge in the election tribunal, the chief justice of the concerned high court will be consulted,” the statement said.
