Lahore High Court Chief Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik has turned down a request by the Election Commission of Pakistan to appoint district and additional sessions judges as election tribunals to deal with election petitions. "After examining the request following relevant laws, the CJ said on Wednesday that there is no provision in the law or the rules for the High Court to appoint judicial officers as election tribunals for the aforesaid purpose," said a statement by the court registrar.
The CJ said retired judicial officers were not under the administrative control of the court and their selection as election tribunal depended on their consent which could be obtained by the commission.