The Islamabad High Court stated that there is no reason for the court to interfere in the National Assembly’s internal affairs because the deputy speaker’s actions do not appear to have any mala fide intentions.
When a five-judge larger bench led by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition on Friday against National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri for delaying the assembly session, he made these remarks.
Murtaza Javed Abbasi, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), filed the petition.
The larger bench that was hearing the case also included Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar.
The petition claims that the circular delaying the assembly session until April 22 was unconstitutional. It asks the court to prevent the deputy speaker from abusing his authority.
The petitioner’s lawyer stated in his arguments that the assembly session was convened on April 16 following the resignation of its former custodian, Asad Qaiser, as per the April 13 circular.
Justice Amir Kiyani questioned the lawyer about whether the removal of the deputy speaker was on the agenda for the assembly’s April 16 meeting.
The lawyer replied in the negative, claiming that the only item on the April 16 agenda was the election of the assembly speaker. According to the rules, the speakership could not be vacant for long.
Chief Justice Minallah wondered if it would make a difference if the assembly session was convened with only a few days’ notice.
He questioned why the court would meddle in the National Assembly’s internal affairs. The deputy speaker could not preside over the assembly’s session on the day of the no-confidence motion against him, he said, adding that the sanctity of parliament should be respected.
Because the deputy speaker was not accused of breaking any rules, CJ Minallah stated that the court would not intervene in this case.
The court, on the other hand, issued notices to the federal government, the NA deputy speaker, and the NA secretary, directing them to submit responses until the case’s next hearing on April 22.
