LHC rejects plea seeking ineligibility of PML-N, PPP candidates in by-poll

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday rejected a petition seeking ineligibility of PML-N and PPP candidates in NA-133 by-election, ARY News reported.

A bench of the high court declared the petition as non-maintainable.

The court in its order said that an appeal should have been filed against the decision of the district election commission.

“The election commission should itself have act against the repeated violations,” the petitioner earlier said.

“The court could not act over a matter in presence of a proper forum to address it,” the bench said.

An independent candidate Sohail Shehzad had moved the petition in the high court requesting it to declare PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik and PPP’s Aslam Gill disqualified to contest the by-poll slated for Dec 5.

He sought their disqualification on the basis of video clips that went viral on social media in which loyalties of voters were reportedly being bought.

The National Assembly seat from Lahore fell vacant after the death of PML-N MNA Pervaiz Malik.