NA-133 by-polls: Appeals of Jamshed Cheema, wife rejected

LAHORE: The Election Tribunal (ET) comprising Justice Shahid Jamil Khan of the Lahore High Court on Friday dismissed appeals of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidates from NA-133, Lahore, Jamshed Cheema and his wife Musarrat Cheema against the rejection of nomination papers by the returning officer.

Cheema through his counsel Mubeenuddin Qazi submitted that the returning officer (RO) rejected his papers contrary to facts. He says the RO took a ground that the proposer of the appellant was not from the same constituency, which is not factually correct.

He argued that the proposer is very much resident of the appellant’s constituency but the defect is in the record of the election commission due to a misplaced census circle. The counsel stated that the RO has failed to appreciate that the appellant’s case was not a case of defect in the nomination papers but a case of defect in the record of the ECP.

Therefore, he asked the tribunal to set aside the decision of the RO and allow the appellant to contest the by-poll to be held on December 05. The ECP counsel said that the proposer didn’t live in the same constituency that was why their nomination papers were rejected. The respondent’s counsel contended that the tribunal could not re-interpret the already settled law. After hearing the arguments from both sides, ET dismissed Cheemas’ appeals.