SHANDANA GULZAR KHAN vs ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan S

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SHANDANA GULZAR KHAN VS ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan S. 104---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts. 63, 64 & 224---Election Rules, 2017, R. 56---List of seats reserved for women submitted by a political party---Change or alteration of list---Election Commission, powers of---Rejection of nomination papers---Powers of the Returning Officer---Scope---Petitioner was one of the seven women members of the National Assembly from the Province of KPK belonging to Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf ('PTI') (political party)---Petitioner submitted her resignation when in April 2022, 123 members of the National Assembly belonging to PTI had tendered their resignations, and consequently their seats had become vacant---Resignations were accepted en masse but piecemeal by the Speaker---Although all said seven women members had resigned, the Speaker just accepted the petitioner's resignation---Subsequently the Election Commission of Pakistan ('ECP') issued a schedule for election for the one vacant seat reserved for women in the National Assembly from the province of KPK---In the list of candidates submitted by PTI to the ECP, the petitioner's name was mentioned at Serial number 1; after the nomination papers were accepted by the Returning Oficer, her name was included in the list of candidates issued by him---However ECP did not notify the petitioner as an MNA, and instead issued notice to her to determine her eligibility/candidature for the seat which had fallen vacant due to her own resignation---Petitioner challenged order of the ECP holding that PTI could not, "in garb of fresh list", bring her (name) from Serial No.4 in the earlier list submitted in 2018 to Serial No.1 in the new list submitted in 2022---Validity---Article 224(6) of the Constitution stipulated that when a seat reserved for women or non-Muslims in the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly fell vacant on account of death, resignation or disqualification of a member, it would be filled by the next person in order of precedence from the party list of the candidates to be submitted to the ECP by the political party whose member had vacated such seat, provided that if at any time the party list was exhausted, the concerned political party might submit a name for any vacancy which might occur thereafter; S. 104(4) and (5) of the Elections Act, 2017 conved the same legislative intent as the one behind Art. 224(6) of the Constitution---Record revealed that the ECP, in the present case, did not issue a notification declaring the petitioner as a returned candidate---Instead, it issued notice for a hearing to the petitioner and passed an order rejecting the petitioner's nomination papers and holding that the re-submission of the petitioner's name did not appear to be appropriate and justified in the eyes of the law

SHANDANA GULZAR KHAN vs ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan S — 2024 PLD 28 ISLAMABAD

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