The Supreme Court (SC) is expected to announce a verdict on a case related to reserved seats of the PTI-backed SIC today, sources said.
A special session of the apex court’s 13-member full bench was held under the chair of CJP Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday, the sources added.
The important consultative session was summoned by the top judge to hold a discussion over the order related to the reserved seats’ case.
It is noteworthy to mention here that the Supreme Court reserved the verdict on the SIC’s appeals on Tuesday.
The CJP-led full court reserved the verdict after conducting nine hearings on the SIC’s appeals to listen to arguments from all parties, including the federal government and the poll organising body.
The bench also comprises Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan. The issue first emerged after over 80 PTI-backed independent candidates emerged victorious in the February 8 elections and subsequently joined the SIC in a bid to claim seats reserved for minorities and women.
However, PTI suffered a setback after the ECP, citing the party’s failure to submit its list of candidates, denied allocating the reserved seats to the SIC. The party then approached the PHC which upheld the electoral body’s decision on the matter.
Subsequently, the SIC moved the apex court seeking to set aside the PHC verdict and the allocation of 67 women and 11 minority seats in the assemblies.
The allocation of reserved seats holds significance as the PTI-backed independent candidates, who make up the majority of the opposition benches, lost as many as 77 reserved seats in NA and provincial assemblies due to the PHC’s verdict.
It is also to be noted that the PHC verdict allowing the allocation of reserved seats to the ruling coalition comprising the PML-N, the PPP and others, led to them securing a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. The move propelled the PML-N’s number in the lower house of parliament to 123, the PPP to 73, whereas the PTI-backed SIC number stood at 82.
