The Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) plea for a review of the ruling on the May 14 Punjab Assembly elections.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said, "The court will intervene whenever there is a constitutional violation."
The decision by the ECP to hold elections on October 8 rather than April 30 was deemed "illegal" in April by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, which also included Justices Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar. The bench also ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections in Punjab on May 14.
However, the Commission submitted a petition asking the apex court to reconsider its decision after the deadline of May 14 had passed.
The ECP said in a 14-page appeal that the supreme court should reconsider its judgement since the judiciary "doesn't have the authority to give the date of elections. The ECP had asserted that "such powers exist elsewhere under the Constitution but certainly do not lie in a court of law," citing a number of legal precedents and justifications.
In a three-page verdict of the April 27 proceedings in the Punjab election delay case, the Supreme Court said its April 4 verdict directing the ECP to hold Punjab polls on May 14 "remained unchanged".