PESHAWAR, Oct 6: The Peshawar High Court on Friday stayed the holding of elections for the vacant seat of Takhtbhai tehsil naib nazim.

A bench comprising Justice Qaim Jan Khan and Justice Ijaz Afzal suspended an order of the chief election commissioner about holding the elections on Oct 7.

The bench put on notice the respondents in the case, including the Election Commission and the provincial government.

The court was hearing a writ petition filed by the ousted naib nazim, Gohar Ali, who stated that his removal through a no-confidence motion was illegal.

Advocate Abdul Lateef Afridi appeared for the petitioner and contended that the presiding officer had acted in an illegal manner as a no-trust motion against the petitioner had been defeated.

Mr Afridi argued that initially a no-confidence motion was moved against the petitioner by a member of the tehsil council, Alamzeb Khan, and seconded by Abdul Khaliq. A council meeting was convened on Sept 20 where the motion was defeated and both the proposer and the seconder did not turn up, he said.

The counsel argued another meeting was convened on Sept 25 in which the petitioner was removed from the post.

Mr Afridi contended that under Rule 75 of the NWFP Local Government Election Rules, once a no-confidence motion failed a similar motion could not be moved for one year.

He said that although the petitioner conveyed to the Election Commission that the second meeting was illegal, the chief election commissioner issued an order for holding polls for filling the post.

PETITION ADMITTED: The bench admitted for hearing a writ petition filed by 27 students of the Pakistan Forest Institute challenging the holding of entrance test for admission to MSc classes.

It ordered that the petition be fixed for hearing next week.

The petition has been filed by Mufti Idrees and 26 other students of BSc, Forestry, in the institute.

Advocate Afridi appeared for the petitioners and contended that the institute had published an advertisement announcing that entrance test for BSc and MSc classes would be held on Oct 8.

Mr Afridi argued that the institute was affiliated with the University of Peshawar and entry test for admission was mentioned nowhere in its rules.

He argued that admitting the students of the same institution to MSc after an entrance test was unjust.