HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court disposed of a constitutional petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed independent candidate for NA-220 after an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officer handed over the Form-45s to the petitioner, Faisal Mughal.

A division bench comprising Justices Khadim Hussain Tunio and Yousuf Ali Sayeed asked the ECP officer to provide the petitioner copies of the Form-45s. The ECP officer had earlier filed a statement along with a report submitted by the commission’s special secretary and a copy of the order passed on the application moved by the petitioner seeking to provide him certificated copies/record of Form-45s uploaded to the commission’s website by presiding officers through EMS.

The ECP’s additional director general (law) Khurram Shahzad submitted to court on Thursday that certified copies of Form-45s had been handed over to the petitioner.

The petitioner’s counsel Noorul Haq Qureshi advocate urged the court to direct the ECP officer to provide him the device which contained record of the EMS showing uploaded election results so that it could be examined by the petitioner. Justice Tunio asked the counsel to take up the matter with Election Tribunal through an application as the tribunal could summon any record by virtue of having powers of a civil court.

The ECP officer provided copies of certain forms to the counsel including Forms-45s and 46 in the court.

The court order said that under such circumstances the petition stood disposed of, leaving the petitioner at liberty to get the record including attested copies of Form-45s alleged to have been uploaded by ECP through EMS.

Faisal Mughal, who contested polls for NA-220 (Hyderabad city), had filed the petition after losing elections to MQM’s candidate Syed Wasim Hussain. In his petition, he had prayed the court to direct returning officer to provide him certified/attested copies of all documents.

According to the petitioner, he did not receive copies from ECP officer on Thursday as he was being given scanned copies of Form-45s uploaded on ECP’s website. He said that he needed copies of original Form-45s.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2024