SC: PTI cannot get reserved seats relief under Article 187

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued its detailed ruling in the reserved seats case, holding that the court’s power of complete justice under Article 187 of the Constitution could not be used to extend relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). A 10-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan said the circumstances of the case did not warrant invoking Article 187 to alter electoral outcomes or to confer seats upon a party that was not before the court at the relevant forums.

The bench — comprising Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, Naeem Akhter Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Aamer Farooq and Ali Baqar Najafi — revisited the earlier litigation over women and minority seats. It noted that PTI had not sought reserved seats at any judicial forum and was not a party before the Election Commission of Pakistan or the Peshawar High Court.

The judgment explained that the June 27 majority decision which had disturbed the distribution of reserved seats could not be justified through Article 187. The court said using complete-justice powers to remove already-notified lawmakers and to issue directives beyond statutory limits fell outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Reaffirming that the Sunni Ittehad Council was not entitled to the contested seats and that PTI’s claim had not been properly placed before the forums below, the judges concluded that the prior relief granted in PTI’s favour could not stand. The ruling stresses that constitutional interpretation must stay within the text and scheme of the law, and that judicial preferences cannot override the Constitution or legislative will.