Hearing Concludes on Leave to Appeal Challenging Legitimacy of the Interim Government; Order Tomorrow

The hearing on the leave to appeal petition challenging the legitimacy of the interim government concluded on Wednesday (3 December). A full seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, is scheduled to deliver its order in the case tomorrow.

The Attorney General, Additional Attorney General and several lawyers took part in the hearing. The chief legal officer of the state argued that the writ petition challenging the legitimacy of the interim government was filed based on a misconception.

On the other hand, lawyers presenting arguments in favour of the writ stated that there is no scope to question the legitimacy of a government formed following a mass uprising. They argued that it is contradictory to appear before a court reorganised by the very government that is being challenged and raise questions regarding the legitimacy of that government.

The primary argument of the petitioner was that during the 5 August mass uprising, the then Chief Justice and the judges of the Appellate Division had taken shelter in the cantonment. As a result, they were unable to provide an opinion on the formation of the government under Article 106 of the Constitution based on a presidential reference. Hence, it was claimed that the formation and oath-taking of the present government were not lawful.

It is notable that senior lawyer Mohsin Rashid filed this writ petition in December of last year. However, the High Court later dismissed it.

Khaborwala/SS