Plea seeking to restrain former judge Zahid from working rejected

LAHORE: Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday rejecting the plea to restrain a former judge Rana Zahid Mahmood from working as election tribunal referred a petition of PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja to a larger bench.

The judge in his verdict announced about the other day proceedings said, “As this court is not going to entertain the matter any further, hence, no interim relief is being granted.”

The judge directed the office to place the petition of Raja filed against establishment of election tribunals comprising retired judges before a full bench of this court after soliciting necessary instructions from the Chief Justice.

During the hearing on Monday, a law officer had told the court that Salam Raja also challenged the appointment of retired judges in a petition filed last year which was pending with a full bench.

The law officer asked the court to refer the said petition to the full bench for further hearing.

The petitioner’s counsel had asked the court to issue a stay order if the petition was to be referred to the full bench.

The petitioner contended in his petition that the impugned election tribunal led by former judge Rana Zahid Mahmood was not lawfully established as the presiding officer was not a former judge of the high court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025