PMS 2017 Solved Pakistan Affairs Past Papers | Write a Short Note on Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din Case
The following question of PMS Pakistan Affairs 2017 is solved by Miss Iqra Ali, the best Pakistan Affairs Coach, on the guided pattern of Sir Syed Kazim Ali, which he taught to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Outline
1-Introduction
2- Historical Background of Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din case
3-Sindh Chief Court
4-The Federal Court Judgement
5-Consequences of the Maulvi Tameez-ud-din Case
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Pakistan has faced many political and constitutional crises in its history, plunging the country into a deep abyss. Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din case is one such case that set the precedent for subsequent political course in the 77 years history of Pakistan. It started with the reversal of the judgment made by the Sindh Chief Court in favor of Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din who challenged the move of President Ghulam Muhammad regarding the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. The Federal Court reversed the judgement of the high court and supported the move of the Governor General, citing the Doctrine of Necessity. This resulted in the delaying of the constitution making, along with weakening the parliamentary supremacy. Additionally, it set the precedent for the judiciary’s pivotal yet detrimental role in the future unpolitical and unconstitutional moves by the executive, which can be seen in the endorsement of successive military coups in the country. This question talks in depth about the background, the role of the High Court and the Federal Court and the consequences of the case.
Background of Maulvi Tameez-ud-din Case
In 1947, the Indian subcontinent was sliced into two separate dominions, India and Pakistan, with the colonial’s constitution, Government of India Act, 1935, as an instrument to rule the polities until their own constitution takes over. So, the first task both states did was the erection of constituent assemblies to draft their own constitution. India took the lead and was done with preparing its own constitution on 26th January 1950. However, Pakistan was still busy in building consensus on what sort of constitution the country needed to run the administration of the state. After seven years of political squabbling and building consent, the constituent assembly was ready to present the country’s own constitution. Suddenly, the Governor General, Chaudhry Ghulam Muhammad, dissolved the constitution assembly on 24th October 1954, dismissed the Prime Minster, Khawaja Nazimuddin, restrained the president of the constituent assembly, Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din, from exercising his legally assigned duties and formed a fresh council of ministers. The Governor General cited several reasons; however, he could not provide any law or authority whereby he dismissed the assembly. Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din filed a petition under article 223-A, passed by the Constituent Assembly on 16th July, 1954, in the Chief Court of Sindh to seek writ of mandamus, which was meant to restrict the powers of the Governor General in the affairs of the President of the Constituent Assembly and writ of Quo Warranto, which was meant to challenge the appointment of the new ministers by the Governor General in the cabinet, beginning the saga of judiciary’s role in constitutional crisis in the country.
Role of Chief Court of Sindh
The Chief Court of Sindh ruled in favor of the petitioner, Maulvi Tameez-ud-din, citing that the Governor General has no authority to dissolve the constituent assembly under the constitutional framework. It issued writ of mandamus and writ of quo warranto, despite the bickering from the federal government about the jurisdiction of the court to issue writs against the federal government. The Chief Court relied on the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, in terms of scope and purpose; the Government of India Act 1935; and subsequent acts by the Governor General and the Constituent Assembly, in giving the judgment. After the response from the Chief Court of Sindh, the federal government approached the Federal Court to challenges the writs by the Sindh high court.
The Federal Court Judgement
The Federal Court, headed by Chief Justice Munir, were not concerned about the constitutionality of the move of the Governor General; rather, it remained skeptic about the constitutionality of the article 223-A, giving the high court power to issue prerogative writs against the federal government. The apex court maintained that since Article 223-A, passed by the constitution assembly, had not received the assent of the Governor General, it was invalid. Thus, with dissenting notes of Justice J. Cornelius and Justice Sharif in a five-member bench, the Chief Justice validated the move of the Governor General under the Doctrine of Necessity, aimed at preserving the stability of the state. The decision was more political rather than constitutional or legal.
Consequences of Maulvi Tameez-ud-din case
The principle of a necessary approval of the Governor General on any law passed by the parliament put the country into limbo. Maulvi Tameez-ud-din case and another case that was prior to it, Usif Patel Case, questioned the validity of many such laws passed by the Constituent Assembly. As many as 46 laws were deemed invalid because of the aforementioned cases. This caused delay in constitution making, which was already running at the pace of ant. Moreover, the decision of the superior court also gave a blow to the parliamentary supremacy. Additionally, the doctrine of necessity used to justify the move of the Governor General set the precedent for the judiciary to sanction unconstitutional and undemocratic moves in the future political journey of the country as the doctrine was later used to justify military coups in the country.
Conclusion
Maulvi Tameez-ud-Din case is a landmark legal event that opened the floodgates for the unconstitutional and unpolitical moves by the executive for its vested interests in the history of Pakistan. The reversal of the Sindh Chief Court judgement by the Federal Court and the introduction of the doctrine of necessity to justify the unconstitutional moves of the executive by the judiciary not only undermined parliamentary supremacy but also introduced the judiciary as a politically biased organization in the political history of the country. In a nutshell, this single case unleashed havoc on the constitutional machinery of the country.
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