Tahirul Qadri loses temper after Supreme Court rejects petition
ISLAMABAD: Dr Tahirul Qadri, the chief of Tehrik-e-Minhajul Quran (TMQ), yelled at the Supreme Court judges on Wednesday when the apex court bench dismissed his petition seeking reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The Supreme Court dismissed Dr Tahirul Qadri’s petition as he failed to establish that his fundamental right had been infringed upon.
The court, however, decided not to proceed against Tahirul Qadri for his uncalled-for tirade during the concluding arguments. Otherwise, he could have been charged with contempt of court for his harangue to undermine the authority of the court.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, dismissed Dr Tahirul Qadri’s petition ruling that no violation of fundamental rights was noticed nor pointed out by the petitioner in his arguments.
“For reasons to be recorded later on, Dr Tahirul Qadri has failed to establish the case for exercising discretionary jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution,” the court ruled in its short order.
Dr Qadri had filed a petition in the apex court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution praying to the apex court to declare void ab initio the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and four ECP members as these were not done in accordance with the provisions of Article 213 and 218 of the Constitution.
The court in its order ruled that no violation of fundamental rights had been noticed nor pointed out by the petitioner during his arguments.
“The petitioner has failed to establish his bona fide in view of the fact and circumstances which have been noticed during the hearing to invoke jurisdiction of court coupled with the fact that the peculiar circumstances, the petitioner has no locus standi to claim the relief at this stage as has been prayed for,” says the short order.
The court further ruled that the petitioner, inter alia, for the reason being the holder of dual citizenship was not qualified to contest the election to parliament in view of the bar under Article 63(1) of the Constitution.
“However, it is loudly and clearly observed that as a voter like other overseas Pakistanis, whose names have been incorporated in the electoral list, he can exercise his right of vote as this right is recognised under the Constitution and it has also been upheld by this court,” the court ruled.
The court, in its order, further said that it was essential to note that at the time of concluding his arguments, the petitioner started casting uncalled-for aspersions on the members of the bench which are tantamount, prima facie, to undermining the authority calling for action against him for contempt of court under Article 204(3) of the Constitution read with Section 3 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003.
“However, we, while exercising constraint, have decided not to proceed against him following the principle that such jurisdiction has to be exercised sparingly on case to case basis,” the court concluded and dismissed the petition.
Earlier, during the course of the hearing, the Chief Justice observed that there are more than 100 registered political parties, 342 elected members of the National Assembly and many political parties that are not part of the assemblies, yet no one but Tahirul Qadri had any reservations about the Election Commission.
The chief justice had asked Qadri how his rights were being infringed upon, adding that he would have to prove the purity of his intentions since he had suddenly appeared on the national stage.
Dr Qadri replied that his dual nationality was being subjected to a media trial, and his loyalty was being brought into question. He contended that he be allowed to cite different court rulings. The chief justice, however, asked him to argue about his fundamental rights (that have been infringed upon).
The chief justice observed that the petition had been submitted in a personal capacity, and the petitioner was not eligible to contest elections, therefore, he must prove his right to file the petition.
Dr Qadri however, contended that for three days, he was being put on trial, by asking such questions that the Constitution does not even allow to be asked. He questioned as to whether the court considered foreign nationals as second and third class nationals.
The Chief Justice replied that everyone, who appears before the court, was liable to be questioned. During the hearing, Tahirul Qadri waved a photo of the oath-taking ceremony of the Chief Justice from former military ruler Pervaiz Musharraf. On this, the court barred Qadri from continuing his arguments.
The court observed that Dr Qadri had ridiculed the court, adding that the petitioner’s intentions appeared to be mala fide. Meanwhile, Attorney General Irfan Qadir, while taking the rostrum, contended that Tahirul Qadri satisfied the requirements in terms of locus standi. The chief justice told the AG that the court had questioned the petitioner about the fundamental rights as well legal justification concerning his right to file the petition. The chief justice asked the AG for his view about the questions put by the court to the petitioner.
Irfan Qadir replied that the petitioner’s intentions could not be questioned in the absence of evidence to support the claim of insincerity.The chief justice replied that a democratic government was about to complete its term while elections were being held however, a person came and asked for disbanding all the things. Should it be considered as sincerity of the said person?
Meanwhile, soon after the court’s verdict, Dr Tahirul Qadri, while talking to media persons outside the court, termed the judgment as unconstitutional, saying that he was not given a chance to discuss even a single line of his petition in the past three days. He said that his nationality was attacked in the court rather than hearing his arguments. He termed the court’s verdict as political and against the law and the Constitution.
. He is right now in Sindh meeting with Sindhi leaders and probably they are planning to show their power at Mainar-e-Pakistan in response to his Dharna. Get ready for Patwari / Wadera Shahi siyaasat in coming days but I am sure people are the best judge and they won't come in their trap once again.
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He is a hot topic these days
