Mst. IQBAL BEGUM vs DISTRICT RETURNING OFFICER/DISTRICT AND SESSIONS

This constitutional petition was filed against the concurrent rejection of the petitioner's nomination papers by the Returning Officer and the Appellate Authority. The core legal question was whether the failure of a candidate, proposer, or seconder to sign the nomination papers and the accompanying affidavit constitutes a fatal defect or a curable irregularity. The Lahore High Court held that such an omission is a curable defect rather than a fatal one. Consequently, the Court ruled that the Returning Officer or the Appellate Authority should have permitted the petitioner, proposer, or seconder to rectify the omission by signing the relevant documents. The petition was allowed, establishing the principle that procedural omissions of signatures on nomination papers are curable and should not result in outright rejection without an opportunity to rectify.