Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Sumaira Malik has submitted her reply over the objections raised by her opponent Umer Aslam in a review petition pending before a larger bench of Supreme Court (SC) against the judgement dated October 28, 2013 in a civil appeal.

Petitioner Umer Aslam, who lost three consecutive general elections to Sumaira Malik, after losing the 2008 general elections filed an election petition alleging forgery in the graduation degree of Sumaira Malik along with electoral rigging charges. Punjab University (PU) and the election tribunal Lahore High Court (LHC) after due verification in person declared the BA degree of Sumaira Malik as genuine. However, in the SCP on October 28, 2013 the decision was reversed and a lifetime ban was imposed on her contesting elections besides her disqualification from being a member of National Assembly.

In her reply, Sumaira Malik stated that University of Punjab as well election tribunal/high court used the naked eye for comparing the photographs with the person/face of review petitioner and validly concluded that the photographs belong to the review petitioner. However, the error floating on the record of the impugned judgement passed by the court while hearing the appeal and substituting the findings of the university as well as the election tribunal is that the learned members of the bench hearing the appeal only compared the photographs inter-se but failed to compare all the photographs with the person /face of the present review petitioner, unlike the manner adopted by the election tribunal and the university.

Hence, it even failed to properly exercise the discretion, jurisdiction vested under Article 84 of Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984. Even otherwise there is contradiction in the assessment of the naked eye between the election tribunal, the university authorities and Supreme Court and thus to administer complete justice the most appropriate order was passed by the Supreme Court for expert technical advice as the penalty granted to the petitioner is deprivation of a life time restrain from taking part in electoral politics which is a serious deprivation and the individual’s rights.

Umer Aslam has no locus stand or cause of action to challenge the forensic report obtained by the court on its own initiative after acceptance of it by the counsels, which is not only this court’s prerogative but was otherwise necessary to reach just, fair and proper conclusion and adjudication of the titled review petition. The court has obtained the report from the state-of-the-art forensic lab/agency which is not only recognised as the best forensic lab in the country nationality as well as internationally, whereas, not only the report has been prepared but analysis has also been undertaken by a qualified person who is neutral and independent and whose integrity and credibility is being attacked without any proof.

Influence by governmental agency could neither arise nor sustainable at all as in that case the forensic should be closed down as its reports decide the fate of several individuals and the petitioner cannot alone be given extraordinary privileges, whereas the right of the petitioner are under strain not that of the respondent. The FSLA DG on February 16, 2016 presented the forensic findings before the court and authenticated the claim of Sumaira Malik that she did not commit any forgery in her graduation examination form.