ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court (SC) has issued Justice Jamal Mandokhail’s decision in the reserved seats case, in which he has accepted the petitions challenging the majority verdict—partially.
The 12-page decision released by the SC states that Justice Mandokhail has upheld his original stance regarding the 39 reserved seats.
According to Justice Mandokhail’s ruling, the majority decision concerning the remaining 41 seats is incorrect. He has converted the majority ruling on these 41 seats into a review decision, saying the Court did not have the authority to declare these 41 candidates as independents.
Justice Mandokhail wrote that the decision regarding the 41 seats does not align with the Constitution or the facts. The court cannot change the political affiliation of any candidate, and the matter of the 41 candidates was not pending before the court. He held that the majority’s decision regarding these 41 candidates constituted “exceeding its jurisdiction.”
It may be recalled that in the majority opinion written by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, 41 candidates were declared independent. The July 12, 2024 ruling had given these 41 candidates additional time to decide which party they wished to join.