ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a verdict of Peshawar High Court (PHC) for the suspension of the returning officer of PK-91 Kohat constituency.
The court declared that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had replaced the RO of the constituency on solid grounds. The commission had not committed any illegal or unconstitutional act, it said.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, hearing the appeal of ECP, remarked that it seemed that some tactics were being used to stop the elections.
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He noted that the high court’s bench didn’t even bother to serve notices to respondents before suspending the RO.
The chief justice observed that the ECP appointed the new RO due to the ailment of the previous one. Whether the petitioner wanted to appoint an RO of his choice, he asked.
The court instructed the returning officer to continue the scrutiny of nomination papers of candidates in the constituency.
