KARACHI, Dec 27: The Sindh High Court issued on Tuesday preadmission notices to the returning officer, Election Commission authorities and other respondents in a petition against disqualification of a union council nazim of Korangi Town. Nasir Khan and Riazul Hasan contended that their election as nazim and naib nazim from UC-1, Bilal Colony, Korangi, was challenged by the runner-up for the office of nazim, Mohammad Latif Kamboo, on the ground that that matriculation certificate of the UC nazim was bogus.

The tribunal, they contended, allowed the petition without adopting the prescribed procedure and disqualified the nazim, along with his running mate from holding the offices won by them.

The petitioners claimed that the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Peshawar, which had declared the nazim’s matriculation certificate bogus through a letter issued on October 28, 2005, upheld its authenticity subsequently through a letter despatched on November 24, 2005, and declared that Nasir Khan passed the matriculation examination in grade ‘d’.

Their counsel, Syed Saeed Hasan Zaidi, submitted that no further evidence was recorded by the election tribunal. He maintained that there was no divergence of opinion on the board’s part in respect of the genuineness of the certificate.

An SHC division bench, comprising Justices Mushir Alam and Mohammad Athar Saeed, issued pre-admission notices to the respondents for their comments after preliminary hearing.