1. This judgment furnishes the detailed reasons for which Writ Petiti Nos. 7740/91, 7921/91, 7943/91, 7981/91, 7627/91, 8397/91, 7923/91, 7922/ 8411/91, 7961/91, 8501/91, 7718/91, 8574/91, 7832/91, 8436/91, 8256/ 8423/91 and 8313/91 were accepted by a short order on Ist October, 1991.
2. 2.It is not necessary to set out the facts leading to filing of the petitions separately. Suffice it to say, that the petitioners in all these petition applied for inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls or for transfer of the votes from one electoral area to another to the Registration Officer, but the applications were either not entertained or were rejected.
3. 3.The reasons for the rejection disclosed by the respondents before t Court is that as the Election Commission of Pakistan, has directed that an revision of electoral rolls be taken in hand with effect from 31st of Aug 1991, no application for correction of any entry or inclusion of the name in Electoral Rolls could be made. Reference in this connection has been made the letter of the Punjab Election Commissioner, addressed to the Registration Officers on 14th September 1991, the relevant paras.
4. Of which are reproduced as under:--- "(2) Attention of the Registration Officers may further be invited section 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, which is operative for enrolment and correction at a time other than the annual revision. Since the process of annual revision has commenced with effect from August, 31, 1991, the provisions of section 18 have been rendercd inoperative from that date. The Registration Officers cannot, therefore, exercise their powers under section 18 from the commencement of annual revision on August 31, 1991, till the culmination of the process of annual revision.,
(3) After completion of various phases of the revision work, on December 7, 1991, printing of the supplementary lists will be undertaken by the middle of December this year. The final and revised electoral rolls are expected to be published early next year and the persons enrolled as voters during the revision operation will not, therefore, be able to participate in the ensuing elections to the local councils. It is clarified that if elections to the local councils are held in November, 1991, as announced by the Provincial Governments, only such voters will be entitled to participate in these elections as are registered on the electoral rolls existing on August 31, 1991, unless the law is amended by the Provincial Governments."
5. 4.The learned counsel for the petitioners have relied upon sections 11 and 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, in support of their contentions that notwithstanding the annual revision, the power remains with the Registration Officer to correct the entries. Reference has also been made to section 20 of the Act. The only reliance of the respondents apart from the letter of the Election Commission is on the heading of section 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974.
6. 5.From the respective contentions of the parties, the question which emerges for decision is as to whether the powers under sections 11 and 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, can be exercised during the time the annual revision of the electoral rolls is in progress intended by section 17 of the aforesaid Act.
7. 6.In order to appreciate the controversy, the relevant provisions of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, may be noted. The Act as its preamble suggests was promulgated with a view to provide for preparation and revision of the Electoral Rolls to the elections of National and Provincial Assemblies. At this stage, it may be observed that although, the rolls prepared by the Election Commission are meant for elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies elections, but by virtue of section 18 of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1979, the electoral rolls for the election to the Provincial Assemblies shall also be the rolls for the purposes of the elections to the Local Councils. Section 4 of the Electoral Rolls Act, provides that the rolls are to be prepared by revising the existing electoral rolls for the time being in force. Section 5 authorises the Election Commission to appoint Registration Officers and Assistant Registration Officers for the purposes of preparation, revision, correction and amendment of the Electoral Rolls. Section 9 empowers the Chief Election Commissioner to appoint a Revising Authority for any electoral area or group of electoral areas for the purposes of receiving and deciding objections and applications for correction relating thereto. Provisions of section 11 are important for the present purposes and may advantageously be reproduced as under:--- "11.Transfer of name from one electoral area to another,---A person may apply for transfer of his name from the electoral roll of one electoral area to the electoral roll of another by filing-- (a)an objection to the inclusion of his name in the roll in which it has been included, and
(b) a claim for the inclusion of his name in the other, with the appropriate Revising Authority or Revising Authorities, if it is preferred before the final publication of the electoral roll under section 16, or with the appropriate Registration Officer or Registration Officers, if it is preferred after such final publication."
8. Under section 16, final publication has to be made by the Registration Officers Section 17 which deals with annual revision is as follows:--- "17.Annual revision of electoral roll-- An electoral roll shall be revised and corrected annually in the prescribed manner and form-- (a)so as to include the name of any qualified person whose name does not appear on such roll, or (b)so as to delete the name of any person who has died or who is or has become disqualified for enrolment, or (c)for correcting any entry or for supplying any omission in such roll: Provided that, if, for any reason, the electoral roll for any electoral area is not revised, the validity or continued operation of the electoral roll shall not thereby be affected."
9. Section 18 on which reliance has been placed by both the parties reads as under:--- "18. Enrolment and correction at a time other than the annual revision.-- (1)Any person whose name is not included in an electoral roll for the time being in force and who claims that he was or is entitled to be enrolled on that roll may apply to the appropriate Registration Officer, (along with a photostat copy of the identity card issued to him under the National Registration Act, 1973 (LVI of 1973) for the inclusion of his name therein, and if the Registration Officer is satisfied after giving such notice and making such inquiry as he may consider necessary that the applicant was or is entitled to have his name enrolled, he shall for the purpose of further correcting the roll insert the name of such person in that roll.
10. (2)Any person may apply to the Registration Officer for the correction of any entry in an electoral roll for the time being in force; and (a)if the entry relates to the applicant and the Registration Officer is satisfied after giving such notice and making such inquiry as he may consider necessary that the entry relates to the applicant and is erroneous or defective in any particular, he shall correct the roll accordingly; and (b)if the entry does not relate to the applicant and the Registration Officer is satisfied after giving notice to the person to whom the entry relates and after making such inquiry as he may consider necessary that the entry is erroneous or defective or should be deleted, he shall correct the electoral roll accordingly!
11. Section 20 of the Electoral Rolls Act which may also be noticed is as under.
12. "20.No correction to be made after constituency called upon to elect.-- No revision or correction of any electoral roll for an electoral area shall be made nor shall any order under section 19 be made in respect of any electoral roll at any time after the constituency of which such electoral area forms part has been called upon to elect its representative and before such representative has been elected."
13. 7.At the very outset, it may be stated that section 11 envisages the exercise of powers by two different authorities, namely Revising Authority and the Registration Officer, at two different points of time. It postulates that if the application is for the transfer of the vote before the publication of the electoral rolls, it shall be made to the Revising Authority, but if it is after the date of final publication, it shall be addressed to the Registration Officer. This section does not make any mention whatsoever of the process of annual revision. On the other hand, it provides that power under this section can be exercised at any time, whether before or after the publication of the Rolls.
14. Thus there is no warrant for assuming that when the annual revision has been taken in hand, this power is not available.
15. 8.So far as inclusion of names in the electoral rolls for the time being is concerned, section 18 vests a right in a person, otherwise entitled to be enrolled as a voter, to file an application to have his name included in the '8 electoral rolls. There is nothing in the body of this section which prohibits the filing of an application during the time of annual revision. Reliance of the respondents, however, is only on the heading of section 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974. But this reliance is misplaced. It is well settled that heading of section cannot control the meaning of the statute nor curtail or restrict its scope and working. Although the heading may be looked into for interpreting the section if its words appear to be doubtful but it cannot restrict the plain words of the section. In the event of any conflict between the main body of the section and the heading, it is the former which has to prevail.
16. 9.Maxwell in his famous treatise "The Interpretation of Statutes" (Twelfth Edition) at page 11 states:-- - "The headings prefixed to sections or sets of sections in some modern statutes are regarded as preambles to those sections. They cannot control the plain words of the statute, but they may explain ambiguous words, a rule which, whatever the assistance which it may render in construction, cannot stand logically with the exclusion of marginal notes, for headings like marginal notes are................
17. Value the Court is entitled to look at the headings in an Act of Parliament to resolve any doubt they may have as to ambiguous words, the law is quite clear that you cannot use such headings to give a different effect to clear words in the section, where there cannot be any doubt as to their ordinary meaning."
18. In Craies on Statute Law (Seventh Edition) at page 209 it is stated that:- "Heading do not affect construction where clear.---But the same general rule which regulates the effect of the preamble applies also to these headings --- namely, that they are not to be taken into consideration if the language of the enactment is clear. The leading authority is Hammersmith & City Ry. v. Brand and the matter was later considered in Fletcher v. Birkenbead Corpn. In 1948 Lord Goddard, CJ. Said with reference to cross-beadings in the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925: 'But while the Court is entitled to look at the headings in an Act of Parliament to resolve any doubt they may have as to ambiguous words, the law is quite clear that you cannot use such headings to give a different effect to clear words of the section where there cannot be any doubt as to their ordinary meaning'."
19. Similarly, the following statement of law appears in Bindra's Interpretation of Statutes (Seventh Edition) at page 55:--- "Cannot restrict the meaning of sections, -- If the language of a section is clear, headings are not to be taken into consideration. Though there is authority for the proposition that the mere heading of a chapter is to be dealt with as though it were a Preamble, yet it cannot be used to cut down the clear word of the section which are contained in the chapter."
20. In Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan v. Messrs Nadeem Flour Mills and others (1981 SCMR 143), it was ruled that:--- "In support of the petition, Mr. Chundrigar relied on section 3 of the second Ordinance, because the heading of this section states that the second Ordinance was not to derogate from other laws'. But it is a trite observation that the heading of a section cannot curtail the plain words of the section."
21. In Abdul Razzaq v. Faqir Muhammad and another (PLD 1975 Lah 1362) Abdul Shakurul Salam, J. (as his Lordship then was) observed:--- "Now the terms of the section are clear, explicit and comprehensive enough. There is no need to fall back upon the heading of the section to understand its meaning. There is no ambiguity, or, complexity in the context, or, the language. The terms of the section are rather more expressive and extensive than the Heading would convey. Of course, a Heading of a section cannot be construed in a manner so as to control the express language of the provision and restrict its meaning. Therefore, it would be more profitable and in accordance with the canons of constructions to rely on the language of the section itself to interpret its meaning and intent."
22. The judgment of the Privy Council in Emperor v. Sadashiv Narayan Bhalerao (PLD 1947 PC 32) and that of the Indian Supreme Court in The Board of Muslim Wakfs, Rajasthan v. Radha Y%ishan and others (AIR 1979 SC 289) may also be referred to that advantage.
23. 10.Viewed in the fight of the above principle, it is to be seen that the language of section 18 is quite clear and there is no ambiguity about it. The heading of the section, therefore, need not be taken into consideration, and in any case the heading by itself cannot render the provisions of section 18 inoperative during the time the annual revision is in progress as has been suggested by the respondents. Be that as it may, even the heading does not lead' to the conclusion at which the respondents have arrived. It merely provides that the exercise of power for correction under rule 18 is different from the annual revision provided by section 17, which in any case, does not have any over-riding effect nor does it whittle down the scope of section 18.
24. 10-A. While interpreting provision of law like the Electoral Rolls Act, it has to be kept in mind that franchise is one of the most valuable rights vesting in a citizen and no one should be deprived of the same, except by clear mandate of law. The restricted interpretation being placed by the respondents on section 18 of the Act is neither countenanced by the Act nor the object for which it was promulgated. It is trite law that the interpretation which furthers the evident purpose of the enactment and advances the remedy is to be preferred to an interpretation which stultifies its object.
25. In Corpus Juris Secundum, Volume 29, at page 106 while construing law relating to registration of voters, it is stated that:--- "While various purposes have been ascribed to registration laws, the primary purpose of registration laws is to prevent the perpetration of fraud at elections by providing in advance thereof an authentic list of the qualified electors. Every part of a Registration Act must be so construed as to effectuate this purpose, and to give electors the fullest opportunity to vote that is consistent with reasonable precautions against fraud. Such laws should be construed liberally and favourably to the right to vote. Hence, permanent registration laws should not be construed so as to conflict with the general principles of law governing the exercise of the right of suffrage, but should be interpreted in the light of the purpose of such registration. Likewise, all provisions of registration laws should, if possible, be construed so as to avoid conflict."
26. Similarly in 25 American Jurisprudence 2 Ed. At page 785 it is opined that:-- Every part of a registration statute should be construed in order to effectuate its purpose, and to give electors the fullest opportunity to vote consistent with reasonable precautions against fraud.
27. Such statutes should be construed, if possible, so as to avoid conflict. The elections to which a registration law applies must be determined from a proper construction of the provisions thereof."
28. Even otherwise, keeping in view section 4 of the Enforcement of Shari'ah Act, 1991, the Courts in Pakistan while construing a Statute, are bound to adopt beneficial construction.
29. The following observations of the Supreme Court in Haji Kadir Bux v, Province of Sindh and another 1982 SCMR 582 are instructive:--- "The foregoing summarization would show that in so far as the question of general principles is concerned there is nothing which would prevent the Courts in Pakistan to adopt beneficial construction as against literal whenever a controversy in this behalf arises. I may add that such a course would indeed be in accord with our own jurisprudence and philosophy underlying the same."
30. 11.The plain language of section 18 leaves no room for doubt that no restriction as to time has been placed by law on the right of a person to apply for correction of the rolls. It is also to be seen that according to section 23 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, rolls once published remain in force till revised. That being so, till such time fresh or revised rolls are finally published, the right to have the previous rolls corrected cannot be denied to the 'electorate. This conclusion is further fortified by section 20 of the Electoral Rolls Act, which provides that no revision or correction can be made nor any order for preparation of fresh rolls can be passed after the constituency of which such electoral area form part, is called upon to elect its representatives. This provision makes the intent of the legislature obvious that where it wanted 1 revision or inclusion, it has so stated in clear terms.
31. It cannot therefore, be argued with any success, that such a provision be implied in section 18.
32. 12.There is an equally weighty reason that why the scope of section 18 should not be restricted as has been suggested by the respondents. As already observed, under section 18 of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1959, the electoral rolls for Provincial Assembly elections shall be the rolls for the Local Body elections. According to the announcement of the Government, these elections are scheduled to be held on 28th November, 1991, the Provincial Election Commissioner, Punjab in his letter dated 14th September, 1991, has himself pointed out that process of annual revision is to complete by the 15th December, 1991 and as such those persons whose name does not figure in the electoral rolls on 31st August, 1991 shall have no right to vote at the forthcoming elections. It needs no gainsaying that such an interpretation which has the effect of disenfranching a large number of persons should not in the absence of any compulsion, be readily accepted.
33. From the above, it is obvious that neither section 11 nor section 18 is subject to section 17 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, nor can the latter section override or whittle down, the effect of sections 11 and 18 of the Act. The instructions issued to the Registration Officers that in view of annual revision, the provisions of section 18 had become inoperative are not countenanced by any law and have no efficacy.
34. For all these reasons, it is dear that the respondents have acted without any authority in refusing to entertain/decide the applications filed by the petitioners under sections 11 and 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974.
35. The result of the above discussion is that all these petitions are accepted, with no orders as to costs. The respondents are directed to H entertain/decide the applications filed by the petitions, .
36. On merits in accordance with law.