Top court returns PTI’s ‘frivolous’ petition

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) longawaited petition, asking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family for their alleged involvement in the Panamagate scandal, met the same fate as the recently-returned petition filed by the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), reports Dawn online.

The Supreme Court office on Tuesday handed the petition back to the party’s Advocate-on-Record Chaudhry Akhtar Ali, a day after it was filed by senior counsel Naeem Bukhari. The objections raised by the court office were identical to the ones highlighted when the JI petition was returned, i.e. the petition, prima facie (on the face of it), appeared to be frivolous.

The petition, which was filed in the name of PTI chairman Imran Khan, sought the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his son-in-law retired Captain (retd) Mohammed Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

“That this petition prima facie appears to be a frivolous petition within the contemplation of Order XVII Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980,” explained the order issued by the registrar’s office when the petition was returned.

Under the Rule 5 of Order XVII, the registrar has the authority to refuse to receive a petition on the grounds that it has not been filed in accordance with the rules, or is frivolous, or contains scandalous matter.

Under the same rules, the petitioner has the right to move an appeal within a fortnight of the petition’s return, which would then be heard by a judge of the apex court in his chambers.

“All these questions ought to have been decided by the court and not the registrar’s office,” senior PTI leader Ishaq Khakwani told Dawn. The registrar had violated the constitution, he said, adding that the party’s legal team was carefully analysing the registrar’s objections and would soon file an appeal against the order.

That this petition prima facie appears to be a frivolous petition within the contemplation of Order XVII Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980 Supreme Court Registrar