Lahore: The Lahore High Court has issued a notice to the Election Commission regarding an appeal challenging the rejection of Imran Khan’s nomination papers. A three-member bench, led by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, heard the case, with Aziz Bhandari advocate representing Imran Khan.
During the proceedings, the lawyer informed the court that Imran Khan, the founder chairman of PTI, had submitted nomination papers for National Assembly Constituency NA 122 Lahore and 89 Mianwali. The grounds for rejection in both constituencies were the same, alleging that the supporter was not from the respective constituency. According to the law, nomination papers can be rejected with a penalty of 2 years.
The lawyer argued that, apart from the Tosha Khana punishment, there were no other charges in NA 89. The punishment in Tosha Khana was based on moral turpitude, but there is no clear interpretation of moral turpitude in judicial decisions.
The court inquired from the Election Commission’s lawyer whether the petitioner had been sentenced for moral turpitude and the extent of the punishment. The Election Commission’s lawyer replied that they would provide assistance on this matter, mentioning that the petitioner had two convictions.
The counsel for Imran Khan stated that both the Returning Officer (RO) and the Appellate Tribunal had relied on the arguments related to Toshakhana’s conviction. Subsequently, the court issued a notice to the Election Commission regarding the rejection of Imran Khan’s nomination papers.
