High Court Dismisses PTI's Petition on Election Symbol Allocation

In a pivotal case concerning election law, the Lahore High Court recently dismissed Writ Petition No. 287 of 2024 filed by Ch. Umer Aftab Dhillu and Bilal Nasir Cheema against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). This case revolved around the ECP's decision to deny the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) their electoral symbol "BAT" for the upcoming 2024 General Elections.

Key Areas:

Petitioners' Arguments: The petitioners, represented by Advocate Muhammad Wasim Sandhu, challenged the ECP's order on the grounds of jurisdiction and legality. They argued that the ECP acted beyond its mandate by invalidating PTI's internal elections and thereby denying them their electoral symbol. The petitioners claimed this action violated their fundamental rights under Articles 17 and 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

ECP’s Standpoint: The ECP justified its decision by citing PTI’s non-compliance with the Election Act, 2017, and the PTI constitution of 2019. The ECP emphasized that PTI failed to conduct intra-party elections as required, leading to the rejection of their certificate and the symbol application under Section 215 of the Election Act, 2017.

Legal Precedents: The court referenced several significant cases, including "Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan vs. Federation of Pakistan" (2023 SCP 337) and "Gul Khan vs. Saeed Ur Rehman" (2023 SCP 394). These cases underscored the necessity of timely elections and the dangers of judicial interference that could delay the electoral process.

Conclusion: The Lahore High Court, led by Judge Jawad Hassan, concluded that the petition was not maintainable. The court highlighted that similar matters were already under consideration by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Peshawar High Court, thus adhering to the doctrine of judicial propriety and avoiding conflicting judgments. Consequently, the petition was dismissed in limini, affirming the ECP's decision.

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