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Civil Petition for Special Leave to Appeal No. K‑92 of 1969, decided on 13th January 1970.
(On appeal from the judgment and order of the High Court of West Pakistan, Karachi, dated the 22nd May 1969, in Petition No. 106 of 1966.)
-----S. 9 read with West Pakistan Municipal Committee (Election of Members to represent Special Interests) Rules, 1966, r. 7(3)‑Contesting election to Municipal Corporation as representative of Special Interests in accordance with r. 7 (3) of Rules‑Nomination paper not required to be accompanied with certificate that candidate was member of particular social welfare agency‑Rejection of nomination paper for non‑filing of such certificate‑Illegal.
Z. U. Ahmad, Advocate Supreme Court instructed by A. Aziz Dastagir, Advocate‑ on‑Record for Petitioner.
Nemo for Respondents.
Date of hearing : 13th January 1970.
‑The nomination paper filed by the respondent No. 1 for election to the Karachi Municipal Corporation as a representative of the Special Interests was in accordance with Form I, Appendix 1, prescribed under rule 7 (3) of the West Pakistan Municipal Committee (Election of Members to represent Special Interests) Rules, 1966. The Returning Officer, however, rejected the nomination paper on the ground that the certificate filed along with the nomination paper showing that the respondent was a member of "Anjuman Islah‑e‑Ghariban" a duly registered Society under the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance XLVI of 1961 was not properly authenticated. Thereafter election for two seats reserved for special interests under section 9 of the Municipal Administration Ordinance was held on the 26th February 1966, in which the petitioner and another were declared elected.
An appeal preferred by the respondent to the Collector against the order of the Returning Officer rejecting his nomina tion paper was dismissed on 1.6‑2‑1966. He thereupon moved the High Court in writ jurisdiction contending that there was no provision for authentication of the certificate of his membership of a social organization within the Municipal Administration Ordinance and the West Pakistan Municipal Committee (Election of Members to represent Special Interests) Rules, 1966. The plea was accepted and the order of the Returning Officer rejecting the nomination paper of the respondent was set aside as without lawful authority.
In canvassing the petition for leave to appeal from the order of the High Court the learned counsel for the petitioner urged that the nomination paper filed by the respondent No. 1 was defective inasmuch as it was not accompanied by a certificate signed by a candidate that he belonged to or represented any special interests. There is no force in the contention. Firstly, the nomination paper was not rejected by the Returning Officer on this ground ; and secondly, Form 1, Appendix 1, framed under rule 7 (3) requires the candidate to declare that he consents to the nomina tion; that the particulars given in the nomination paper are true to the best of his knowledge ; that‑ to the best of his knowledge he is qualified to stand as a candidate for election to the Municipal Committee ; and to the best of his knowledge he has not been disqualified and does not stand disqualified to stand as a candidate for election to the Municipal Committee under any law. No provision is made in the prescribed form that the candidate should certify that he is the member of a particular social welfare agency and as such qualified to seek election. As seen this requirement was also fulfilled by the certificate dated the 12th February, 1966, issued by the General Secretary of the Anjuman Islah‑e‑Ghariban filed along with the nomination paper by the respondent.
The rejection of the nomination paper of the respondent was thus clearly without lawful authority and the High Court has properly set it aside.
The petition for leave to appeal is dismissed.
Leave refused.
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