Pakistan SC adjourns suo motu on speaker's ruling till tomorrow

The Supreme Court of Pakistan adjourned on Monday its hearing on the legality of the current situation in the country following the dismissal of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan by National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and the subsequent dissolution of the NA by President Arif Alvi on the prime minister's advice till 12pm on Tuesday (tomorrow).

Earlier in the day, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the Supreme Court will announce a "reasonable" order today in the case, reports DAWN.

As it adjourned the case, the top court said that it could not decide on the case without listening to everyone. "The ruling cannot come out of thin air," CJ Bandial said as he adjourned the case till 12:05 pm tomorrow.

During the hearing today, Farooq H. Naek, who was representing the joint opposition, pleaded the court to issue a verdict on the matter today, pointing out to the bench that the president had already asked for names to appoint as caretaker prime minister.

But Justice Ahsan said it was impossible to pass the verdict today, adding that the apex court's decision will have far reaching outcomes. "We respect the opinions of political parties."

On Sunday, Qasim Suri, the deputy speaker, dismissed the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan citing Article 5. Subsequently, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of the prime minister.

Read More: Prima facie NA deputy speaker exceeded powers, says Pak SC judge over no-trust motion

As a constitutional crisis gripped the country, the apex court took a suo motu notice to resolve the matter. As the hearing started today, a petition filed by the opposition seeking the formation of a full bench to hear the case was dismissed as the CJP said that the formation of a full bench would create delays in other cases.

He asked Farooq H Naek if he had any objections over the five-member bench. Naek said he had full confidence in all judges on the bench.

Suo motu notice

Yesterday, CJP Bandial had taken suo motu notice of the situation and formed a three-member bench headed by CJP Bandial, and including Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, to take up the matter. Today, a larger bench of the apex court is hearing the case.

After a brief hearing on Sunday, a written order was issued which said the court would like to "examine whether such an action (dismissal of the no-trust motion on the basis of Article 5) is protected by the ouster (removal from the court's jurisdiction) contained in Article 69 of the Constitution."

Article 69 of the Constitution essentially restricts the court's jurisdiction to exercise authority on a member or officer of parliament with respect to the functions of regulating parliamentary proceedings or conducting business.

"No officer or member of Majlis-i-Shoora (parliament) in whom powers are vested by or under the Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for maintaining order in Majlis-i-Shoora, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers," clause two of the Article reads.

The court also ordered all state functionaries and authorities — as well as political parties — to refrain from taking any advantage of the current situation and stay strictly within the confines of the Constitution.

The court had also directed the interior and defence secretaries to brief it on the law and order situation.

President Alvi, the Supreme Court Bar Association and all political parties have been made respondents in the case.

The apex court rejected a request to suspend the deputy speaker's ruling and issued a notice to Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Khalid Jawed Khan to discuss the "constitutionality of the [deputy speaker's] decision" to dismiss the no-trust motion on the basis of Article 5 of the Constitution.

Article 5 obliges every citizen to be obedient to the Constitution and law and says that "loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen".

In its written order, the court further observed that "prima facie, there is neither a finding recorded in the matter nor was a hearing granted to the affected party" as far as the deputy speaker's ruling is concerned.

However, the deputy speaker, in his detailed four-page ruling issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Sunday evening, declared a "foreign state was interfering in the internal affairs of Pakistan and Prime Minister Imran Khan was its primary target".

Suri said he could not give details about the foreign intentions and its links to the no-confidence motion, but they could be provided in an in-camera session. The deputy speaker also based his ruling on the recent meetings of the National Security Committee, federal cabinet and Parliamentary Committee on National Security that were briefed on the 'threat'.

A joint petition, filed by the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F through Farooq H. Naek, Azam Nazir Tarar and Kamran Murtaza, has also requested the apex court to declare the ruling of the deputy speaker, as well as the advice of the prime minister to the president to dissolve the National Assembly and the subsequent dissolution of the assembly as illegal and unconstitutional.