LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday observed that it cannot set aside a law merely because it does not conform to moral values, ARY News reported.
Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who headed a LHC bench, observed that this court had no objection to hearing this petition, but the similar cases were already pending in the top court, thus the petitioner should approach it instead.
Ishtiaq Chaudhry of PAT had filed a petition in the high court challenging the Election Bill 2017, a clause of which allows a disqualified lawmaker to hold office of a political party.
The Chief Justice remarked that courts do not decide cases on the basis of morality, but following laws and the constitution.
He observed that it is morally inappropriate that a disqualified person to head a political party, but the court cannot set aside the law because it is weird.
Over half a dozen constitutional petitions have been filed in the apex court and high courts against the Election Bill 2017, which paved the way for Nawaz Sharif to head his party. The first petition was filed by Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed in the Supreme Court.
The petitioner contended that the Election Bill 2017, a clause of which allows a disqualified lawmaker to hold office of a political party, is against constitutional provisions and teachings of Islam. Under the law, a disqualified person has been given powers to get the law of his choice enacted by the legislators associated with his/her party, he added.
Any action in pursuance of the legislative clause would turn the country into a banana republic, he argued while requesting the court to declare it as illegal and strike down the notification of Nawaz Sharif’s election as party president.
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