MUHAMMAD MUZAMMAL KHAN, J.--- Instant Constitutional petition challenged the judgment/order dated 17.12.2003, passed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (respondent No. 1), to be declared- illegal, void and of no legal consequence, whereby the petitioner was non-seated from the office of Tehsil Nazim, Safdarabad, District Sheikhupura and was held to be disqualified from being a candidate in the election of Local Government for a period of four years.
2. Succinctly, relevant facts are that the petitioner was elected as Tehsil Nazim of Tehsil Safdarabad District Sheikhupura in the local bodies elections held in May, 2001. At the time of nomination papers, the petitioner appended therewith a Matriculation Certificate in the name of Munir Ahmad Malik son of Abdul Majeed, issued by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad, certifying that he passed his matriculation with Roll No. 43972 in the Annual Examination of 2001. This result was also shown in the gazette of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad. His rival candidate i.e. Respondents Nos. 2 to 4 filed complaint before the Election Commission of Pakistan alleging that Matriculation Certificate of the petitioner was fake and fictitious, as the petitioner did not pass any Matriculation Examination and could not have been a candidate for the office of Tehsil Nazim. On this complaint, a learned Member of the Election Commission of Pakistan at Lahore, issued a notice to the petitioner and petitioner in response to the notice, filed his reply, claiming that he with his permanent abode at the address given in the title of the petition i.e. Sheikhupura, did his Matriculation from Abbottabad in the year 2001 with Roll No. 43972 The Election Commission of Pakistan sent a query to the Board of Intermediate and Secondary C. L. R.
Education, Abbottabad, in reply to which, the Secretary to the Board, vide letter No. 9/10/CE-S-06, dated 16.10.2001 remitted a negative report stating that certificate No. 155821 did not belong to the petitioner. He simultaneously issued Notification No. CER/52/A-I-2487, dated 30.6.2003, declaring that all the certificates of the petitioner were fake and the same stood cancelled.
3. The petitioner aggrieved of the act of the Secretary, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad, filed a Constitutional petition i.e. Writ Petition No. 30 of 2003 before the Peshawar High Court but the same was dismissed on 21.5.2003. The petitioner then filed CPLA No. 1133 of 2003 before the Honourable Supreme Court, assailing the judgment of the Peshawar High Court, which was graciously disposed of on-23.10.2003 with the observation that the Election Commission of Pakistan may decide the controversy without being influenced by any observation of the High Court. Complaints against the petitioner were taken up by the Election Commission of Pakistan at Islamabad, on 17.12.2003, and after hearing the petitioner, the same were accepted with the result noted above, vide order of even date i.e. 17.12.2003. The petitioner thereafter, filed a Constitutional petition in hand and the respondents in response to notice by this Court have appeared and were represented through their counsel.
4. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have examined the record, appended herewith. Though the local bodies term for which the petitioner was elected as Tehsil Nazim has already expired and he did not contest the recent elections of local bodies yet the impugned order was prayed to be declared as void on the ground that it would remain a stigma on his political career. Submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner that orders of the Secretary and the Controller of Examination of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad being unilateral and having been passed at his back, without any inquiry or providing him an opportunity of proving his stance, were void and that the Matriculation Certificate produced by the petitioner pertains to him as he while doing his business of Carpters in the Province of N.W.F.P. Did his Matriculation in the year 2001 against Roll No. 43972; his reliance in this behalf, to migration certificate to improve result of the petitioner from Punjab and that Section 152(2) of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001 was not applicable and did not equip with the Election Commission to exercise powers of Chief Election Commissioner, have not impressed me for multiple reasons. Firstly, that according to the report of the Board of Intermediate, date of birth of Munir Ahmad Malik who appeared in Matriculation Annual Examination for 2001, was 24.12.1981, meaning thereby that the student was of about 20 years age whereas according to copy of Identity Card of the petitioner, his date of birth is 24.12.1960 and there is no explanation of this difference of time of about two decades. Matriculation Certificate gives Session for which the petitioner claimed to have appeared in the examination, the year 2000 and the period of examination mentioned therein is March, 2001 and has been over written which makes it doubtful.
Professor Sher Ali Khan, Controller of Examination of Abbottabad, Board, in his report dated 16.10.2001 opined that signatures of the petitioner do not tally with the signatures of Munir Ahmad Malik, who appeared in the examination as per his attendance sheet, taken during S.S.C. Annual Examination, 2001. Secondly, he did not bring on record any proof of his claimed business or residence, even though temporary, within the Province of N.W.F.P. And his mere bald claim that he was involved in that Province in business/political activities did not get support from any document on the file. Above all, the petitioner challenged the letter/notification issued by the Secretary and Controller of Examination of Abbottabad Board, before the Peshawar High Court by maintaining a C.L.R.
Constitutional Petition No. 30 of 2003, which was dismissed on 21.5.2003, and the findings therein were maintained by the Honourable Supreme Court with the observations that the case of the petitioner before respondent No. 1 shall be decided on its own merits without being influenced by the judgment of the High Court. The petitioner could not point out any violation of the direction by the Honourable Supreme Court as the impugned order was passed, without taking any support from the judgment in his Constitutional petition before the Peshawar High Court. I feel myself unable to sit in appeal against the judgment by the Peshawar High Court or against the decision by respondent No. 1 which decided factual controversy after hearing the petitioner and due examination of the record and had no factual error in it, as discussed above. As regards jurisdiction of the Hon'ble Chief Election Commissioner in terms of Section 152(2) of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001, I have no ambiguity that the terms of the Election Commissioner and the Election Commission used in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, are inter changeable.., The impugned order revealed that at the time of decision in question, the Election Commission of Pakistan was presided over by the Hon'ble Chief Election Commissioner, thus, lacuna, if any, stood cured, smashing submissions of the petitioner.
5. For the reasons noted above, the impugned order being in consonance with the record deserved no interference by this Court, as the same was returned in accordance with law. Even otherwise a lawful decision within the ambit of conferred jurisdiction, cannot be substituted in Constitutional jurisdiction of his Court, hence, this petition being devoid of any merit, is dismissed with no order as to costs. .