Reserved seats verdict: Hearing on PML-N's review plea after two months

ISLAMABAD: The review petition filed by PML-N against the Supreme Court’s ruling on reserved seats case is likely to be fixed for hearing after two months, ARY News reported on Friday quoting sources.

According to sources, the review petition has been forwarded to the judges’ committee on practice and procedure after allotting it a number.

Two members of the committee have agreed to fix the petition for hearing after two months, say sources.

The sources said the majority of the members recommended hearing the petition after the vacations of the Supreme Court so that all the judges could be available.

The plea

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring PTI as eligible for reserved seats.

The PML-N filed a review petition in the apex court, urging the top court to withdraw its July 12 order.

In its peal, the PML-N argued that the PTI was not even a party in the case as it was Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) which approached the Supreme Court.

The PML-N plea stated that SC’s order to award reserved seats to PTI on SIC plea is tantamount to violation of law.

The PML-N in its petition had made the SIC and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as respondents.

Last week, a 13-member bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled that the PTI is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict, setting aside the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order wherein it had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision denying the reserved seats to the SIC.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Ameenuddin Khan opposed the majority decision.