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Petitioner: RUSTAM ALI VS Respondent: DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, SIALKOT AND ANOTHER
Court Name: Lahore High Court Judge(s): Shamim Hussain Qadri, Abaid Ullah Khan Title: RUSTAM ALI vs DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, SIALKOT AND ANOTHER Case No.: Writ Petition No. 826 of 1981 Date of Judgment:1982-04-24 Reported As: PLD 1982 Lahore 518 Result: Petition accepted
JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT SHAMEEEM HUSSAIN KADRI, ACTG. C. J.-This writ petition calls in question the judgment of the Election Tribunal, Sialkot, dated 8-2-1981 whereby the petitioner was de-seated. 2. The election in Union Council, Ward No. 31 Siraj, Tebsil Shakar--garh, District Sialkot, took place on 25-9-1979 in which both the parties were the candidates. The petitioner obtained 143 votes while the respondent secured 142 votes. Before the Election Tribunal the main question was that three persons, namely, Mushtaq Hussain, Ghulam Hussain and Muhammad Khalid, whose names appeared in the Supplementary Electoral College list, prepared under the Electoral College Act at Serial Nos. 182, 187 and 188, respectively, were minors. School certificates of these three persons were produced showing that they were minors. Affidavits were also filed in support of this allegation. The Tribunal relying on this evidence found that these three persons had cast votes in favour of the petitioner and the exclusion of these three votes would entitle the respondent to be declared as an elected candidate. Such evidence is violative of secrecy of ballot. 3. The legal question involved is answered by looking at sections 18 and 19 of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1979, which provide the qualification for the voter. Any person whose name is entered in the list rightly or wrongly has the right of vote unless his name is mentioned twice. This is not the situation. Assuming for the sake of argument that these persons were alleged to be minors, the objection could only be raised before the Registering Authority for the removal of their names from the list. That having not been done the conclusion arrived at by the Tribunal is without lawful authority. We, therefore, set aside the order of the Election Tribunal dated 8-2-1981 and accept this petition leaving the parties to bear their own costs.