QAISER RASHID KHAN, J.- Through the petition in hand, the petitioner has prayed as under:- "On acceptance of this petition, for supremacy, integrity and independence of the law and judiciary in true sense and compliance with the mandate of Article 102 of the Constitution in real interpretation, this august court may very graciously be pleased to restrain the respondents from conducting / arrangement of the oath taking ceremony of the newly or subsequently coming Governor (s) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Governor House, Peshawar instead of at the august Peshawar High Court, Peshawar before Honourable the Chief Justice along with grant of any other adequate remedy deemed fit by this august Court though not specifically prayed in best compliance with the law.
2. As per the averments in the petition, the petitioner is a member of the Provincial Bar Council and the High Court Bar Association and has brought the instant petition in respect of the Oath administered to the Governor of a Province in terms of Article 102 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.
3. The petitioner contends that Article 102 of the Constitution pertains to the oath to the Governor of a province whereby , it has clearly been stated that the Governor shall make oath before the Chief Justice of the High Court in the form set out in the Third Schedule and in this respect, the petitioner has not only drawn our attention to Articles 42, 91(5) and 178 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 but also to Articles 60, 69 and 159 of the Constitution of India, 1949. He states that the word 'before' definitely connotes that the oath is to be administered to the Governor before the Chief Justice and the same by all counts means the place where the Chief Justice sits which is the respective High Court of a Province. He further contends that the old practice of administering oath to the Governor at the Governor House is violative of the explicit provisions of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 and that the oath be accordingly administered to the Governor within the premises of the High Court.
4. Such contentions of the petitioner are resisted by the learned Deputy Attorney General, representing the Federation and the learned Additional Advocate General representing the Provincial Government as according to them the Constitution in this respect is abundantly clear and that the same cannot be over stretched to the convenience of any one, be that the petitioner.
5. Arguments heard and the available record gone through.
6. Since the petitioner has also drawn our attention to Articles 42, 91 (5) and 178 of the Constitution, which provide for oath of the offices to the President, the Prime Minster and the Chief Justice of Pakistan, therefore, it would be appropriate to reproduce the said Articles, which read as under:- Oath of President.
Article-42. Before entering upon office, the President shall make before the Chief Justice of Pakistan oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule.
Oath of Prime Minister.
Article- 91 (1)....
(2)...
(3)...
(4)...
(5) The member elected under clause (4) shall be called upon by the President to assume the office of Prime Minister and he shall, before entering upon the office, make before the President oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule: Provided that there shall be no restriction on the number of terms for the office of the Prime Minster.
(6)...
(7)...
(8)...
(9)...
(10)... .
Oath of Chief Justice Article-178. Before entering upon office, the Chief Justice of Pakistan shall make before the President, and any other Judge of the Supreme Court shall make before the Chief Justice, oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule.
7. Since the present controversy which has arisen out of the present petition pertain s to the oath of the Governor of a Province which has been provided in Article 102 of the Constitution, therefore, it would be apt to reproduce the said Article as below:- "Before entering upon office, the Governor shall make before the Chief Justice of the High Court oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule."
8. All that the said Articles state in clear terms is that the Governor shall make oath before the Chief Justice of the High Court. It goes without saying that nowhere it has been laid down in the constitution as to the venue where such oath is to be administered to the respective Governor of a Province. More so, it also needs no reiteration that when it comes to the Chief Justice of a Province, he acts in that capacity not just within the premises of the High Court but all over the province and it is upto the convenience of his lordship to administer oath to the Governor in such event. It is with such view in the background that this oath is being administered to the Governor by the Honourable Chief Justice within the premises of the Governor House.
9. Another aspect which we cannot lose sight of is that despite the neutrality attached or associated with the office of the Governor of a Province, still, for all the practical purposes, he comes from a political background and in the ordinary course, he is the choice of the party in power at the federal level. Such being the case and where the office being a political one, then of course, the assembly mostly comprising of political figures which converges at the time of administration of oath to the Governor is not a thin one, but at times turns into a huge gathering which cannot be otherwise accommodated in the court room of Honourable the Chief Justice.
Moreover, the judges of the High Court being recluse in their disposition are averse to such gatherings within the premises of the High Court. It was probably within the mind of the legislators, whose wisdom cannot be questioned thought it fit that the oath shall be administered to the Governor of a Province before the Chief Justice but the venue has not been specified or highlighted. We appreciate the arguments of the petitioner being a learned Counsel but we are not with him so far as the prayer that he has made at the tail end of his arguments that the oath be accordingly administered to the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the premises of the High Court. Accordingly, this petition stands dismissed.