PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday disposed of four petitions against interim orders of election tribunals on three National Assembly and a provincial assembly constituencies.

The move comes in light of a recent Supreme Court judgment, which barred high courts from intervening in such disputes until the final order was passed by an election tribunal.

While disposing of the petition, a bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Roohul Ameen Khan observed that in light of the Supreme Court’s last month judgment in different election-related cases, the high court couldn’t interfere with interlocutory (interim) orders of an election tribunal.

The petitions were filed by federal religious affairs minister Sardar Mohammad Yousaf, Jamaat-i-Islami MNA from Lower Dir Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate Nasir Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Arbab Akbar Hayat Khan.

Earlier, the high court had granted interim relief to petitioners resulting in the pendency of petitions filed with different election tribunals.

Nasir Khan, who had lost election to former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti in the NA-9 Mardan constituency with a margin of over 2,000 votes, had filed the petition against an interim order of the relevant election tribunal, which had dismissed his application seeking verification of thumb impressions by Nadra of all voters, who participated in the election of the constituency.

The tribunal had rejected his application few months ago on the ground that the petitioner could not give any justification of the need for verification of thumb impressions of voters.

The petitioner claimed that Hoti had won the elections by bogus polling.

Waqar Ahmad, lawyer for Hoti, said last month, the Supreme Court had delivered a detailed judgment while consolidating different cases on election disputes had clearly pronounced that the high courts should not intervene in the proceedings of an election tribunal seized with an election dispute until it was completely terminated.

He said the Supreme Court had ruled that the high court should not entertain petitions against interim orders of tribunals on post-election disputes.

Petitioner Nasir Khan said the Supreme Court judgment was not applicable to his case as the tribunal had almost delivered a final order by not accepting his application regarding verification of thumb impressions of voters.

In the petition, Minister Sardar Mohammad Yousaf had challenged the relevant election tribunal’s interim order for the verification of thumb impressions of voters, who participated in the election of his constituency, NA-20 Mansehra I.

The losing candidate, Azam Khan Swati, who is the PTI provincial president, has challenged the election of Sardar Yousaf alleging bogus votes were cast.

Likewise, MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan had challenged an order of the election tribunal about the summoning of certain witnesses by the election tribunal.

He had won election in the NA-34 Lower Dir constituency.

The runner-up, Mohammad Bashir Khan of PTI, has challenged the election alleging that several Afghans had cast vote in the elections though they’re not eligible to do so.

He had requested the tribunal to summon some presiding officers to verify the casting of votes by Afghan nationals.

Aamir Jawed, lawyer for the petitioner, claimed earlier on the high court orders, the tribunal had issued several orders and in light of the Supreme Court verdict, the tribunal would be empowered to reconsider those decisions.

Also, MPA Arbab Akbar Hayat had challenged an order of the election tribunal for Nadra to conduct verification of thumb impressions of voters, who participated in the election of PK-8, where the petitioner had won.

The election tribunal had issued the said order on an application of a losing candidate from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Asif Iqbal Daudzai, for the verification of thumb impressions of the voters, who participated in the election of the said constituency.

Daudzai has filed a petition with the tribunal challenging the election of Arbab Akbar Hayat accusing him of rigging the electoral exercise.

Published in Dawn January 22nd , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play