Islamabad High Court nullifies election commission’s June 10 decision

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a detailed ruling on petitions challenging the Election Commission’s decision to change the Election Tribunal in Islamabad, ARY News reported on Thursday.

AS per the details, Chief Justice Amir Farooq’s 44-page judgment annulled the Election Commission’s June 10 decision and accepted the petitions filed by PTI leaders.

The court ordered that the applications of Anjum Aqeel, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, and Raja Khurram be considered pending and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to reassess the petition.

The ruling highlighted that the ECP had acted in haste without collecting an affidavit regarding the issue of bias.

Furthermore, the petitioners were not given an adequate opportunity to present their case, violating Article 10A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair trial.

The judgment emphasized that the parties were not properly heard, rendering the ECP’s decision legally unsound.

It clarified that an application for tribunal change should first be presented to the judge in question, who can then decide whether to recuse themselves from the case.

Additionally, the court stated that the rejection of an application alone does not establish prejudice.