The court had directed the ECP to examine the possibility of transferring back the names of voters to Karachi where their names were previously recorded, leaving such voters with an option to transfer their votes, if they so desired, to any other town/city of Pakistan, by making a request to the respective representative of ECP before the announcement of the schedule of general election.
---- The judgement, inter alia, states: 'In view of the peculiar security situation in Karachi... such verification must be carried out by the Election Commission with the help and assistance of Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps'
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed announced this judgement in response to identical petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PML-N and Jamaat-i-Islami, seeking verification of voter lists in a restive Karachi.
The verdict observed that Karachi has a peculiar background, which includes a serious law and order situation, and a detailed stock of the same has been taken by the Supreme Court in the case of Watan Party v. Federation of Pakistan. The court recalled that in the said judgement categorical directions were issued for delimitation of the constituencies of Karachi with the observation to avoid political polarisation, and to break the cycle of ethnic strife and turf wars, boundaries of administrative units like police stations, revenue estates, etc, ought to be altered so that the members of different communities may live together in peace and harmony, instead of allowing various groups to claim that particular areas belong to them and declaring certain areas as 'No Go' Areas under their fearful influence.
"Subsequent thereto, on similar considerations, in view of the relevant laws, delimitation of different constituencies has also to be undertaken with the same object and purpose, particularly to make Karachi, which is the hub of economic and commercial activities and also the face of Pakistan, a peaceful city in the near future.
The Election Commission of Pakistan may also initiate the process on its own in this behalf. "An accurate Electoral Roll is a sine quo non for the holding of a free, fair and transparent election, which is not only the command of the Constitution but also a Fundamental Right of the citizens, which appears to have been compromised qua the residents of Karachi," the verdict said.
It directed the Election Commission to undertake door-to-door verification of voters' lists and complete the process of updating/revision of the electoral rolls by engaging Army and the Frontier Corps, if needed. The judgement also ruled that voters should not be transferred from one area to another without their consent, adding that it was up to the discretion of every citizen to decide the place where he wants to cast his vote.
The court on November 28, 2012, reserved the judgement in the instant case after hearing the relevant parties. The court had accepted the concerns by Pakistan People's Party, Jamaati-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Insaf about the shifting of voters' names from Karachi to other provinces and directed the ECP to examine the matter of registration of votes after securing the consent of the people of Karachi.
The court in its judgement ruled that it is clear that the Electoral Rolls of the city of Karachi are required to be revised by the Election Commission in exercise of powers conferred upon it under Article 219 of the Constitution read with Electoral Rolls Act, 1974 to achieve the objective which is to ensure the Commission operates within the terms of Article 218 of the Constitution.
"There can be no escape from the fact that a free, fair, just and transparent election is the very heart of our democratic system, as envisaged by the Constitution," the judgement said. The court held that such elections must not only be held in a fair, just and honest manner but also appear to be so in order to inspire the confidence of the electorate.
The judgement further ruled that the provisions of Article 219 of the Constitution and the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974 and rules framed there-under must necessarily be interpreted in a manner so as to achieve the said objective. Consequently, the Election Commission must fulfil its obligation cast upon it by Article 218 of the Constitution of ensuring the holding of free, fair and transparent elections and to achieve such purpose seek assistance, if necessary from the Executive Authorities in the Federation which are obliged to render such assistance by virtue of Article 220 of the Constitution.
The judgement cited the case of Prem Kevalram Shahani v. Government of Pakistan (PLD 1989 Karachi 123) wherein it has been held that a plain reading of Article 218 shows that its clauses (1) and (2) provide the constitution of the Commission and its composition, whereas clause (3) provides its duties, namely, that it shall be the duty of the Election Commission in relation to an election to organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against, whereas Article 219 lays down the duties of the Commission, namely, preparing electoral rolls for election to the National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies and revising such rolls annually, organising and conducting election to the Senate or to fill casual vacancies in a House or a Provincial Assembly and appointing Election Tribunals.