GHULAM ASGHAR vs MUHAMMAD ISMAIL Ss — 2022 YLR 2494 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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GHULAM ASGHAR VS MUHAMMAD ISMAIL Ss.18 (2) & 18(5)--- Sindh Local Council (Election) Rules, 2015, Rr. 16 & 23---Joint candidates in a panel---Withdrawal of joint nomination papers---Petitioners (candidates for the seats of Chairman) and respondents (candidates for the seats of Vice-Chairman in the panels of petitioner), as joint candidates, filed their nomination papers---Respondents unilaterally submitted applications before the Returning Officers for withdrawal of their nomination papers, which were allowed by Returning Officers---Held, that S.18 of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013 provided election to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman for Union Committees in the urban area and Union Councils in the rural area as "joint candidates"--- Under R. 16 of the Sindh Local Council (Election) Rules, 2015 the returning officers also invited nomination of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman as "joint candidates" by nomination papers in Form II-(A) duly signed by them as well as their proposer and seconder---Returning officers during scrutiny had to accept or reject their nomination papers jointly and not individually---Legislature had inserted "joint candidates" and letter (s) with the word ' candidate' was based on the premises that both members of a panel have to swim or drown together as a result of election---If law did not allow any person to file the nomination papers to contest election individually at any one seat of the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman because of joint candidature, it did not appear that the legislature would intend to allow any member of a penal to withdraw his nomination papers individually from one seat of the said joint candidature---For withdrawal of jointly submitted nomination papers, both the said candidates were required to sign the application for withdrawal of their nomination papers before the Returning Officer---In individual capacity, neither the candidate for the Chairman nor candidate for Vice-Chairman could withdraw the nomination papers jointly submitted by them in the panel as joint candidature---In the case in hand , nomination papers filed jointly by a panel of Chairman and Vice-Chairman could not be withdrawn unilaterally by a member of the panel ---Constitutional petitions were allowed by setting aside the impugned orders along with directions to the Returning Officers to issue revised list of contestin candidates by inserting names of the petitioners and the said respondents and allot them symbols as per relevant rules.

GHULAM ASGHAR vs MUHAMMAD ISMAIL Ss — 2022 YLR 2494 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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