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Petitioner: BENAZIR BHUTTO VS Respondent: FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN
1988 S C M R 1986
1988 S C M R 1986
Present: Muhammad Haleem, C.J., Aslam Riaz Hussain, Muhammad Afzal Zullah, Nasim Hasan Shah, Abdul Kadir Shaikh, Shafiur Rahman, Javid Iqbal, Ghulam Mujaddid Mirza, Saad Saood Jan, S. Usman Ali Shah, Ali Hussain Qazilbash and Naimuddin, JJ
Mrs. BENAZIR BHUTTO‑‑Petitioner versus
FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN and another‑‑Respondents
Constitutional Petition No.2‑R of 1988, decided on 2nd October, 1988.
(a) Representation of the People Act (LXXXV of 1976)‑‑
‑‑‑S.21, [as amended by Representation of the People (.amendment) Ordinance (II of 1985) and Representation, of the People (Amendment) Ordinance (VIII of 1985) ]‑‑Representation of the People (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1977, R.9 (2)‑‑Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Arts. 17(2) & 184(3)‑‑Constitutional petition‑‑Provisions of S.21 of the Act (as amended) are violative of Fundamental Rights contained in Art 17(2) of the Constitution in so far as they fail to recognize the existence and participation of Political Parties in the process of elections, particularly in the matter of allocation of symbols and, are for that reason void to that extent‑‑Political Parties, therefore, 5h1) 1 tie entitled to avail of the provisions of R.9(2), Representation of the People (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1977 which empower the election Commission to allot any of the prescribed symbols to a political( party or a combination of two or more political parties who Have agreed to put up joint candidates for elections‑‑Every political ,party, snail be eligible to‑participate in the elections to every seat in the National and Provincial Assemblies scheduled to be held on the 16th November, 1988‑‑Petition dismissed‑‑Reasons to be recorded. later.
Yahya Bakhtiar, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Senior Advocates Abdul Hafiz Lakho, Aitzaz Ahsan, S. Iftikhar Gilani, Raja M. Anwar Advocates and M. Afzal Siddiqi, Advocate‑on‑Record for Petitioner.
Aziz A. Munshi, Attorney‑General, K.A. Ghani, Advocate Supreme Court, Malik Muhammad Qayum, Deputy Attorney‑General, Khalil Ramday, Advocate‑General, Punjab, Tanvir Ahmad Khan, Additional Advocate‑General Punjab, Abdul Ghafoor Mangi, Assistant Advocate‑General Sind, Mian M. Ajmal, Assistant Advocate‑General N.‑W.F.P., Yaqoob K. Eusaf Zai, Advocate‑General Baluchistan, Sh. Maqbool Ahmad, Advocate Supreme Court, Rao M. Yousuf Khan, Advocate‑on‑Record for Respondents.
Ch. Fazal‑e‑Hussain, Advocate‑on‑Record, Ali Ahmad Fazeel, Senior Advocate Supreme Court and S.M. Zafar, Senior Advocate Supreme Court: Amicus curiae.
Date of hearing: 2nd October, 1988.
ORDER
MUHAMMAD HALEEM, C.J.‑‑For reasons to be recorded later this Petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution is allowed and it is hereby declared that:
(i) Every political party shall be eligible to participate in the elections to every seat in the National and the Provincial Assemblies scheduled to be held on the 16th November, 1988;
(ii) Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, as amended by Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance II and VIII of 1985 is violative of Fundamental Right contained in Article 17(2) of the Constitution in so far as it fails to recognize the existence and participation of political parties in the process of elections, particularly in the matter of allocation of symbols and is for that reason void to that extent. As a result thereof, the political parties shall be entitled to avail of the provisions of sub‑rule (2) of Rule 9 of the Representation of the People (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1977, which empowers the Election Commission to allot any of the prescribed symbols to a political party or a combination of two or more political parties who have agreed to put up joint candidates for elections. Parties to bear their own costs.
Federal Government to pay a fee of Rs.5,000 each to two amici curiae Mr. Ali Ahmad Fazeel, and Mr. S.M. Zafar.
M . B . A . / M‑604 / S Petition allowed.