Supreme Court of AJK declares Ch. Saeed eligible to contest elections:

The apex court accepts review petition reducing remaining period of his disqualification:

Altaf Hamid Rao;

MIRPUR (Parliament Times): Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, while accepting a review petition, declared Ch. Muhammad Saeed, a former AJK Minister and ex MLA from Mirpur city, eligible to contest elections, reducing the remaining period of his disqualification from being so elected as a member of Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly to the period already undergone.

The apex court comprising Acting Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan and judge Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal issued the following judgement on the Criminal review petition No. 04 of 2019 (Filed on 23.10.2019) Chaudhary Muhammad Saeed son of Chaudhary Muhammad Saleem, r/o Sector F-1, Tehsil and District Mirpur [petitioner] verses Haji Javed Akram son of Ch. Muhammad Akram, r/o Sangote, Tehsil and District Mirpur [respondent]:-

” As the convict in the matter in hand has already served out sentence of imprisonment; moreover, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly and holding the portfolio of Minister and due to the order of disqualification passed by the Court he has lost the said positions and thereafter he could not participate in the by elections held in the Constituency, therefore, keeping in view the overall facts and circumstances of the case in our view the punishment already served out by the petitioner is compatible to the offence/adequate 11 to serve the purpose. Thus, in the interest of justice, while exercising the inherent powers, the remaining period of disqualification from being so elected as a member of Legislative Assembly is reduced to the period already undergone. With the above modification, this review petition stands disposed off”.

Azad Jammu & Kashmir Supreme Court, had, on September 2019, in a contempt of Court proceeding, disqualified Ch. Muhammad Saeed, AJK minister for sports, youth and culture for next five years from being member of the AJK legislative assembly besides from contesting elections to any public office,

The division bench of the apex court of AJK comprising then chief justice Choudhry Muhammad Ibrahim Zia and Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan, on a contempt of court application, filed by Javed Akram son of Ch.Muhammad Akram r/o village Sangote, Tehsil and District Mirpur, had disqualified Ch. Saeed, after he was accused of disobeying the orders of the court of law in respect of removal of encroachment on state-owned land adjacent to the AJK Supreme Court Rest House in Mirpur and his residential building.

Ch. Muhammad Saeed was elected as Member of AJK Legislative Assembly in elections to the state legislature held in July 2016 from Mirpur (LA-III constituency) being the candidate of the PML (N) AJK, defeating his nearest rival candidate of the PTI AJK and former Prime Minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry.

He was appointed minister for sports, youth and culture in the incumbent Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan-led PML (N) AJK government.