The country’s top electoral authority would be failing in its duty if the elections were not only held in a fair manner but must also be seen as such by each citizen, Supreme Court judge Justice Athar Minallah said on Thursday.

“The registered voters, 125,626,390, who have suffered the denial of their most valuable constitutional rights may, if they so desire, exercise their right to claim remedies for the tortuous acts and thus vindicate their rights and set an example for creating a deterrence for the future,” he said in his additional note.

In his 41-page note, the apex court judge wrote about the fundamental rights, delayed appointment and announcement of the date for holding general elections, duties imposed under the Constitution and the Election Act of 2017 to hold polls, and violation of laws.

Justice Minallah was among a three-member SC bench that heard a set of petitions calling for holding elections within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures.

The one-day deadline given by the bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to give the election date resulted in the end of poll controversy. President Arif Alvi and Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja unanimously agreed on November 3 to hold general elections on February 8.

On Nov 4, The three-member bench asked the federal and provincial governments to ensure polls were held on the given date without any hurdles.

In his note, Justice Minallah added that it was a primary constitutional duty of the polls overseer that the delayed elections were held in a fair, free and transparent manner without giving anyone an opportunity to complain.

“Delay of a single day in holding the general elections beyond the expressly provided time frame, i.e ninety days, is the most grave violation of the Constitution and denial of the constitutional rights of the people. It amounts to suspension of the Constitution because it breaches its foundational principle; exercise of powers and authority of the State through the chosen representatives,” the apex court judge said.

“The framers of the Constitution had created the offence of high treason under Article 6 with the object that it will function as a formidable deterrence. But the events following the promulgation of the Constitution have proved that the offence, rather than creating deterrence, has been reduced to a mere platitude. The citizen has no control over putting the proceedings in motion,” the judge said.

Read: ECP violated Constitution over Punjab, KP polls, says legal expert Abid Zuberi

It merits here to mention that Parliament adopted on April 6, 2023 a resolution rejecting a Supreme Court order to hold snap elections for provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The apex court had struck down the ECP’s order of March 22 and said that elections for the Punjab Assembly should be held on May 14.

“The date of February 08, 2024 was appointed by the President and announced by the Commission without prejudice to and notwithstanding the consequences that they may have exposed themselves to on account of the violations of the Constitution and denial of rights to the people of Pakistan,” Justice Minallah said.