HUMAYUN IFTIKHAR CHISHTI vs PUNJAB LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTION AUTHORITY

The grievance of the petitioner is that he moved an application for registering him as a fresh voter on 5-3-1998 and that he was registered by the Registering Officer/Assistant Election Commissioner respondent No.4 before the announcement of the schedule in the electoral list but his name has not been formally listed by the Deputy Commissioner, respondent No.2 because according to the stance taken by her the said registration reached her office after announcement of the schedule the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the liability of respondent No.4 cannot be made an excuse to deprive the petitioner of his right of being properly listed in the electoral list as it amounts to deprive him the benefit of right to contest the election. When confronted with this situation the- learned Additional Advocate-General has conceded that the name of the petitioner should have been mentioned in the electoral roll as it was already registered before the announcement of the schedule date, but taken the stand that in view of sections 20 and 27 of the Electoral Rolls Act (XXI of 1974) the power of revision is with the Commissioner. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that virtually no time is left to avail the revisional/alternate remedy as only few hours are left in filing the nomination papers.

2. Sections 20 and 27 of the Electoral Rolls Act (XXI of 1974) are reproduced as under:--- "20. No correction to be made after consistency 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.

27. Commissioner's tower to include a name in an electoral roll.---Subject to section 20 the Commissioner may, at any time, order---

(a) the inclusion in an electoral roll of the name of any person entitled to be enrolled on such electoral roll, and such name shall, from the date of such order, form part of the electoral roll;

(b) the exclusion from an electoral roll of the name of any person who has died or has become disqualified to be a voter, and such name shall from the date of such order, stand excluded from that roll; and

(c) the removal of the name of any person from an electoral roll where such removal becomes necessary due to the repetition of the name in the same electoral roll or in the electoral rolls of more than one electoral area."

3. Since the schedule of election has been announced and date for filing nomination papers has been fixed as 17-4-1998 and no time is left, even otherwise, the rule of alternative remedy is a rule of convenience and its violation in such-like cases can conveniently be ignored, I, therefore, have come to the irresistable conclusion that sending the petition to the Commissioner at this stage will be highly improper, as such, the writ petition is allowed and the A impugned action of the respondents in not including the name of the petitioner in the voters' list of Chak No.375-E.B., Tehsil Burewala, District Vehari is declared to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect. Petitioner's name shall be included immediately in the voters' list. Parties are left to bear their own costs.

4. Copy Dasti on usual charges