LAHORE:A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday sought reply from the Punjab government and others on petitions challenging the election of the speaker Punjab Assembly.
The bench headed by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan passed the orders on petitions filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Rana Mashhood and others.
The petitioners’ counsel submitted that as per law, it was mandatory to hold the election of the Punjab Assembly speaker through a secret ballot. He submitted that the balloting had not been secret in the election of the speaker on July 29 as the ballot papers and counterfoils were serial numbered. He submitted that a ban was imposed on the entry of his clients when they tried to raise the issue in the assembly. He pleaded with the court to set aside the ban and the election of the speaker for being illegal and unconstitutional.
The bench, after hearing arguments, issued notices to the respondents and sought reply till the next week.