http://dawn.com/news/1039106
LAHORE, Aug 28: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan on a writ petition challenging an ECP direction to inspect election documents before the returning officer of NA-122, Lahore.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq filed this petition after being declared returned candidate from the constituency in the May 11 general election on the PML-N ticket. He defeated Imran Khan in the election.
Imran filed an application with the ECP for the inspection of election record and the commission had on June 18 last allowed it and directed the applicant to submit another application for examination of documents before the returning officer concerned.
On Wednesday, the chief justice started hearing the petition of Mr Sadiq with the arguments of his counsel, Barrister Syeda Maqsooma Bokhari. The counsel submitted that the petitioner had no objection to the inspection of election record, except ballot papers, in terms of section 45 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976.
She said the objection on the impugned order of the ECP was that the said order for public inspection of permissible election record expected the returning officer of NA-122, Lahore to allow and supervise the same. She said the order granted the said relief to the respondent on the basis that the RO had the custody of the election record.
The counsel pointed out that at present the RO did not have any election record because it had already been forwarded to the ECP as required by the law. She argued that there was no remedy of review available against the order passed by the ECP.
At present, the proceedings before the RO were at the stage of filing of reply by the petitioner in answer to the application for public inspection filed by the respondent (Imran), she told the court and added that the RO had completed his job and did not have the jurisdiction to conduct the proceedings assigned to him by the ECP.
Barrister Bokhari prayed to court to set aside the impugned order by declaring it void ab initio, illegal and unlawful. She further requested the court to stay the proceedings before the RO till final disposal of the petition.
The chief justice observed that at the present stage there was no ground for interference because the petitioner admitted the substantive relief prayed by the respondent while the only question was whether such public inspection would be valid in law or not.
The CJ issued notices to the ECP and Imran for Sept 3 to state firstly, whether the petitioner (Sadiq) had an alternate remedy for the relief prayed in the petition and secondly, whether the RO had jurisdiction to conduct proceedings assigned to him by the order.
LAHORE, Aug 28: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan on a writ petition challenging an ECP direction to inspect election documents before the returning officer of NA-122, Lahore.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq filed this petition after being declared returned candidate from the constituency in the May 11 general election on the PML-N ticket. He defeated Imran Khan in the election.
Imran filed an application with the ECP for the inspection of election record and the commission had on June 18 last allowed it and directed the applicant to submit another application for examination of documents before the returning officer concerned.
On Wednesday, the chief justice started hearing the petition of Mr Sadiq with the arguments of his counsel, Barrister Syeda Maqsooma Bokhari. The counsel submitted that the petitioner had no objection to the inspection of election record, except ballot papers, in terms of section 45 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976.
She said the objection on the impugned order of the ECP was that the said order for public inspection of permissible election record expected the returning officer of NA-122, Lahore to allow and supervise the same. She said the order granted the said relief to the respondent on the basis that the RO had the custody of the election record.
The counsel pointed out that at present the RO did not have any election record because it had already been forwarded to the ECP as required by the law. She argued that there was no remedy of review available against the order passed by the ECP.
At present, the proceedings before the RO were at the stage of filing of reply by the petitioner in answer to the application for public inspection filed by the respondent (Imran), she told the court and added that the RO had completed his job and did not have the jurisdiction to conduct the proceedings assigned to him by the ECP.
Barrister Bokhari prayed to court to set aside the impugned order by declaring it void ab initio, illegal and unlawful. She further requested the court to stay the proceedings before the RO till final disposal of the petition.
The chief justice observed that at the present stage there was no ground for interference because the petitioner admitted the substantive relief prayed by the respondent while the only question was whether such public inspection would be valid in law or not.
The CJ issued notices to the ECP and Imran for Sept 3 to state firstly, whether the petitioner (Sadiq) had an alternate remedy for the relief prayed in the petition and secondly, whether the RO had jurisdiction to conduct proceedings assigned to him by the order.
