AJK SC suspends AJK HC orders about halting Bye-election,
Altaf Hamid Rao,
MIRPUR (AJK): Bye-election to the vacant Mirpur LA-III seat of Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly will be held according to the already-announced schedule on November 24.
This emerged after the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu & Kashmir Friday suspended the impugned judgment of the High Court of Azad Jammu Kashmir dated November 21, 2019 halting the bye-election primarily in view of the lack of legal and constitutional requirement of the presence of the office of the Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu Kashmir for holding the elections.
Two-member bench of the apex court of Azad Jammu Kashmir headed by the acting chief justice Raja Saeed Akram and the judge Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal passed the orders on Friday on a writ petition titled Barister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry v/s Tasleem Arif and others, suspending November 21, 2019 impugned judgment of the High Court of Azad Jammu Kashmir.
One of the contesting candidates Sohaib Saeed, also filed an application for implicating him as party in the line of the petitioners praying to the learned apex court that operation of the impugned order may kindly be suspended.
“In view of the legal position and the agreement of the contesting parties, the operation of the impugned judgment passed by the High Court dated 21.11.2019 is hereby suspended. The Election Commission shall take all the necessary measures to hold the bye-election according to the schedule already announced vide notification dated 07.10.2019”, the learned Supreme Court of AJK said in its brief order.
Khalid Rashid Chaudhry Advocate and Javed Najam-us-Saqib Advocate appeared for the petitioners. Whereas Raja Inamullah Khan Advocate General of AJK, appeared on Court notice.
It may be added that the Mirpur LA-3 (Mirpur city) seat had fallen vacant following disqualification of the elected law maker and minister of the incumbent PML [N] – led AJK government Ch. Muhammad Saeed in a contempt of court case by the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu Kashmir for a period of next five years on September 25 this year.
Ch. Saeed had been elected member of the AJK Legislative Assembly in July 26, 2016 elections to Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
