The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench has accepted review petitions concerning reserved seats, annulling the July 12 decision and upholding the Peshawar High Court’s ruling. As a result, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has lost the reserved seats, which will now be allocated to the ruling coalition.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan conducted hearings on the review petitions regarding the reserved seats with a 10-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, instead of the originally planned 11-member bench. During today’s hearing, the arguments presented by the Attorney General were concluded, and the bench reserved its decision.
Justice Aminuddin Khan announced that a brief ruling would be provided soon, and following a break, the Supreme Court delivered a short judgment. The decision was rendered by a majority of 7 members from the bench, which included Chief Justice Aminuddin, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Amir Farooq, Justice Hashim Kakar, and Justice Ali Baqir Najafi.
In accepting the review petitions, the constitutional bench declared the July 12 Supreme Court decision null and void while affirming the Peshawar High Court’s ruling denying reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council. Justice Aminuddin Khan read the short judgment and stated that detailed reasoning would follow.
The court granted all petitions filed against the July 12 decision. Consequently, PTI lost all of its reserved seats, while the ruling coalition will gain 22 seats in the National Assembly and 55 seats in the provincial assemblies. Justice Jamal Mandokhel expressed a dissenting opinion regarding the allocation of 39 seats. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi approved conditional review petitions, stating that the matter should be referred to the Election Commission to determine who will receive the reserved seats based on relevant records.
The decision also noted that Justice Salahuddin Panhor had recused himself from the bench. A 13-member constitutional bench had initially been formed, and during the first hearing, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Aqeel Abbasi dismissed the review petitions.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi directed the Election Commission to re-evaluate the nomination papers. Justices Jamal Mandokhel, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Hassan Azhar Rizvi dissented from part of the decision.
It is worth recalling that on July 12, 2024, the Supreme Court had previously declared the Peshawar High Court’s and the Election Commission’s decisions regarding the reserved seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council null and void, asserting that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was entitled to those reserved seats.
Earlier, on March 14, 2024, a 5-member larger bench of the Peshawar High Court had unanimously rejected the petition concerning the non-availability of reserved seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council.
At the outset of today’s hearing, Justice Salahuddin Panhor, who was part of the 11-member bench, expressed his desire to separate himself from the proceedings, stating that his inclusion was being contested. He mentioned his longstanding connection with those involved in the case since 2010 and emphasized the need to protect the court’s reputation. He clarified that his departure should not be interpreted as an admission of objection.
Advocate Hamid Khan commended Justice Salahuddin Panhor’s decision, but Justice Aminuddin Khan responded that the situation was not praiseworthy, attributing it to the conduct of certain individuals involved. Justice Jamal Mandokhel echoed this sentiment, highlighting that the conduct of the lawyers involved prompted this response.
Hamid Khan argued that he was entitled to present arguments in the review, but Justice Jamal Mandokhel insisted he was not eligible to do so. During the hearing, Justice Salahuddin Panhor expressed that he was personally hurt by the arguments presented, reiterating that the perception of judicial bias was incorrect.
At this point, the hearing was adjourned for 10 minutes, with Justice Aminuddin Khan announcing that the bench would return afterward to continue proceedings.
