The Lahore High Court has issued notices in a petition filed by Chaudhry Khush Akhtar Sobhani challenging a decision by the Sialkot PP-121 returning officer allowing Rana Arif Iqbal to contest the elections. Sobhani argued that Iqbal was a civil servant working as a gauged reader.
He said he had obtained a medical leave in 2000 and was suspended since he failed to turn up. His final decision was not passed till filling of his nomination papers in constituency PP-121. He said respondent RO illegally relied upon the affidavit of the respondent contended that he had resigned from his service in 2000.
He said not only was the said affidavit was confronted to appellant reliance thereof was not even otherwise valid as no date dairy number or even photocopy of the so called resignation was forthcoming.
He said even if the concocted story is accepted the respondent could not avoid disqualification unless he could show that his resignation was accepted and actually acted upon. The respondent being inherently disqualified the permission accorded to him by respondent RO so as to contest is nothing but abuse of process of law and therefore not sustainable.