I sent this email today to the Chief Justice of Pakistan on this email id : mail@supremecourt.gov.pk and dir.hrc@supremecourt.gov.pk :
To Honble the Chief Justice and his companion judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Dear Brothers
After the bold and strong verdict the 3 member bench of the Supreme Court gave on 4th April fixing 14th May this year as the date for holding elections to the Punjab Assembly, the bench seems to have developed cold feet and buckled down under some pressures, and have deliberately procrastinated in the matter of strictly enforcing its order.
The bench entertained a frivolous application claiming lack of funds and problems of security in holding the elections, when it should have thrown it out peremptorily.
Thereafter it asked the parties to talk with each other and try to work out a consensus for a date for holding the elections. This was a totally unconstitutional suggestion. Article 224(2) of Pakistan’s Constitution clearly says that the elections must be held within 90 days of dissolution of the Assembly. Article 224(2) does not have a proviso which says that the date can be extended if the political parties agree. But by a sleight of hand the bench seems to have read this proviso into Article 224(2), something which could only have been done by a constitutional amendment.
It is obvious that the PDM is hell bent on opposing holding of elections, as all opinion polls indicate it will wiped out if that is done, For that reason the State Bank of Pakistan, obviously under PDM pressure, did not release to the Election Commission of Pakistan the Rs 21 billions ordered by the bench for holding the elections, and pleaded that Parliament has to approve this. The ECP has now objected that the Supreme Court did not have the right to fix the date for the elections.
The parties met on several occasions, but no consensus about the date for holding elections was reached
Today is 6th May, and more than a month has passed since the order of 4th April. The order has not been complied with, and though this was mainly because of the delaying tactics of the PDM, the bench is also largely to blame for not strictly enforcing its order, and instead adjourning the matter again and again, displaying a pusillanimous and gutless nature, instead of showing some muscle and excercising its authority.
Yesterday, after the hearing the bench said it will soon pass a written order.
I submit the only order it can appropriately pass is to sack the PDM Govt ( for which it has the precedent of sacking former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ) for contempt of court, and send Shahbaz Sharif, Rana Sanaullah and other PDM leaders who spoke or acted against the 4th April order, as well as the concerned State Bank and ECP officials, to jail.
If the judges refuse to do this, they might as well resign, pack up their bags, and go home.
Justice Katju, former Judge, Indian Supreme Court
