The Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the PTI’s foreign conspiracy hypothesis, stating that judges render decisions based on the evidence presented, not on speculations.
The executive branch was required to make a judgment regarding cipher, but the PTI administration did not launch or direct any investigation.
The entire cipher was not displayed to the court; instead, selected contents were placed there for discussion purposes only.
The decision made by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly pursuant to Article 5 of the Constitution regarding voting on a No-confidence Motion against the former prime minister of Pakistan was the subject of a thorough ruling by the Supreme Court in the suo moto notice case.
The Supreme Court’s five-member larger bench, presided over by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and made up of Justices Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Munib Akhtar, and Jamal Khan Mandokhail, issued a brief order on April 7, 2022, regarding the decision made on April 3, 2022, by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly regarding a motion of no-confidence.
The apex court in its detailed judgment said, “The respondents’ plea that this court should suo motu take up the defence of national security and allegation of breach of sovereignty is without precedent. Equally, in the absence of evidence prima facie demonstrating the plea of the respondents, the court lacks the jurisdiction to launch into a roving inquiry.”
The court also observed in the long judgment, “No observation was made to the effect that the Resolution of No confidence (RNC) was moved by the opposition parties or by persons in Pakistan in conspiracy with a foreign state; and no inquiry/investigation was ordered into the matter to ascertain the nature or extent of involvement of any person in Pakistan for seeking or receiving the support of a foreign state to move the RNC.
“The reservation on the part of the NSC to recommend stronger measures against the alleged foreign conspiracy probably reflects the inadequacy of the material for taking more assertive action. This perhaps also explains the lackluster response by the PCS and the members of the Treasury in their respective meeting and sitting of 31.03.2022.”
The court further noted that the people as a whole was left without an elected Legislature and Executive, the two essential constitutional pillars of the State, as a result of the joint actions of the Deputy Speaker, PM, and President.
As a result, and in defiance of the law, the people of Pakistan were denied their fundamental right to be ruled by a constitutional parliamentary government.
Due to the Deputy Speaker and the PM’s purportedly unconstitutional dissolution of the NA, the people were illegally forced into an election rather than taking the normal path outlined in Article 91(4) of the Constitution for the election of a new prime minister.
“A constitutional crisis was, therefore, created in the country on 03.04.2022. The political void in governance and uncertainty that ensued affected every single citizen of Pakistan, all of whom were caught in the turmoil that loomed large in the country.
“We are of the opinion that in the above circumstances the ruling of the Deputy Speaker and the subsequent actions of the PM and president prima facie infringed the fundamental rights of the opposition parties and the public at large.”
To read our blog on “‘Found guilty’ Supreme Court verdict on defying orders by PTI leadership,” click here.
