The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has declared the formation and oath-taking of the current interim government valid.
The verdict has been delivered following the hearing of a leave-to-appeal petition against the High Court order on the matter.
A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed pronounced the judgment on Thursday. The SC bench also dismissed the appeal and upheld the High Court order.
On 13 January, the High Court came up with an order declaring legitimate the oath and formation of the interim government formed after the July mass uprising.
In December of last year, lawyer Mohsin Rashid filed a writ petition with the High Court regarding the reference and opinion process sent by the president to the Supreme Court over the formation and oath-taking of the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
In support of his petition, he argued that the matter of an interim or caretaker government is not in the Constitution, so a reference cannot be sought on it. According to Article 106 of the Constitution, references must follow the rules of the Supreme Court, but in this case that was not done.
After hearing the writ petition on January 13, the High Court summarily dismissed the petition, and the full judgment was published in February.
The verdict stated that the interim government was supported by legal instruments and the will of the people.
Later, the petitioner appealed to the Appellate Division challenging the High Court ruling.
