The Lahore High Court has ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) needs to closely watch all the decisions being taken by the Punjab’s caretaker cabinet and to correct them if they fall outside its (cabinet’s) jurisdiction.
“Increasingly, cases land in this Court’s docket that reflect a transgression of powers by the caretaker cabinet, which is impermissible,” Justice Shahid Karim observed in the detailed verdict on the petitions against a decision of the caretaker government of Punjab, withdrawing notifications for creation of a new division, four new districts and two tehsils in the province.
Through a short order, the judge had set aside the impugned notifications on June 7. Ikhlaq Haider Chattha and others had filed the petitions.
Giving reasons in the detailed order, Justice Karim observed that the ECP must come alive to its duty to rein in the caretaker cabinet if it is found to be disloyal to its mandate and primary role.
The judge said the label “caretaker” merely denotes a cabinet for a short duration, constituted under peculiar circumstances, and to fulfill a constitutional mandate.
He said the distinction between the elected and a caretaker cabinet does not lie in the use of powers under the Constitution or the laws, but in making decisions while using those powers and that must be limited to the purpose underlying their establishment.
The judge observed that although a caretaker government exercises the same range of powers, its actions and decisions must comport with and not detract from its primary role as tenants of a regime infused with the exalted and core ingredients of neutrality and impartiality.
He said the curtailment by the courts over the years is regarding use of powers that has been circumscribed by the dicta of the courts and now finds expression in section 230 of the Election Act, 2017.
“It must be borne in mind that every power has legal limits and the powers of a caretaker cabinet are more limited than an elected cabinet,” the judge ruled.
About the role of the ECP, the judge noted that it is duty-bound to organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the poll is conducted honestly, justly and fairly.
