The controversy over the oath-taking of assembly members elected on reserved seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has now reached the court, as legal proceedings begin over the ceremony held at the Governor House.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur and Speaker Provincial Assembly Babar Saleem Swati have challenged this move in the Peshawar High Court.

The petition has made the federal government, Registrar Peshawar High Court, Governor, Election Commission and other institutions parties.

The petitioners have taken the stand that the Speaker Provincial Assembly did not refuse to take oath from the members elected on reserved seats at any stage, but when the assembly session began, the session was adjourned due to lack of quorum.

According to the petition, the Speaker had adjourned the session till July 24, in such a situation, taking oath from the members at the Governor House is an extra-constitutional act.

The petitioners cited Article 65 of the Constitution, under which it has been declared necessary to take oath from the members of the assembly in the Provincial Assembly House.

Advocate General Shah Faisal Atmankhel, referring to Article 255(2), said that if a matter is not practically feasible, an alternative route can be adopted, but this power is available to the Chief Justice in specific circumstances.

The petition took the position that if the Chief Minister or the Speaker refuses to take the oath, then the Chief Justice can nominate someone for the oath, but even in this case, it was not proper for the Chief Justice to nominate the Governor without hearing us.

The petitioners further said that the Chief Minister had called the assembly session on the instructions of the Election Commission, but by ignoring this process, administering the oath to the members at the Governor House is against the constitutional requirements.