Notification on suspension of Mardan nazim, naib nazim

PHC extends stay order till May 19

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday extended the stay order till May 19 about suspension of a notification issued by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister that suspended the district nazim and naib nazim of Mardan.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Nisar Hussain Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth extended the stay order after the lawyer for the petitioners requested the court that he wanted to submit rejoinder in the provincial government’s reply and sought some time.

The court had suspended the notification of the chief minister about the suspension of District Nazim of Mardan Himayatullah Mayar, who belongs to the Awami National Party (ANP) and Naib Nazim Asad Ali who is affiliated with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for passing the annual budget against the law.

The chief minister on May 6 suspended both the nazims for 30 days for not passing the budget of the Mardan District Council with a simple majority.

The district nazim and naib nazim had challenged their suspension in the high court through their lawyer Khalid Mehmood.

Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Abdul Latif Khan Yousafzai submitted a reply in the court on behalf of the chief minister.

It was stated in the reply that under Article 248 of the Constitution, the writ petition against the notification of chief minister was not maintainable as he was not answerable to any court for the exercise of powers and performance of functions on any act done or purported to be done in the exercise of such powers and performance of functions.

It said the annual budget was not passed on December 10, 2015 form the District Council Mardan in accordance with law as the quorum was incomplete. 

“The nazim and naib nazim in collusion with each other have marked the presence of the council members on the attendance sheet of December 10, 2015,” it was stated, adding that this illegal act on part of the petitioners were brought in notice of the deputy commissioner Mardan by secretary of the district council.

The reply said that about 40 councillors of the district council on the budget passing day filed complaint that when they reached the venue of session at 9:50 am, they were informed that the annual budget had been passed thus rendering the whole proceedings illegal.

The Local Government Commission, it said, formed a three-member inquiry committee on December 18 to probe the matter. It said the inquiry committee completed its report after collecting record, statements of the councillors.

After receiving the inquiry report, it said the Local Government Commission on its meeting on April 1, 2016 decided that a formal inquiry was to be held against the nazim and naib nazim in the illegal act and they may be suspended for 30 days during the course of inquiry.

The Local Government Commission on April 18 prepared a summary for the approval of the chief minister, who approved the summary on May 5 and the suspension notification was issued on May 6.

It was stated that the petitioners claimed that the budget was passed by simple majority, where it was evident from the district council record that the budget was not passed by the majority and the petitioners had tampered with the attendance sheet of December 10, 2015.

It was stated that the petitioners got the stay order by concealing facts in the petition and thus it was liable to be dismissed.

On Thursday, the petitioners’ lawyer, Khalid Mehmood, submitted that the budget was passed by a majority, but the chief minister due to ulterior motives wrongly and illegally issued the impugned notification. 

He said the notification affected the function of the District Government Mardan and it was against public interest and the spirit of the Local Government Act.

“There is no provision in the KP Local Government Act for suspension of the district nazim and naib nazim. The petitioners are not communicated any sort of charge-sheet of violation of the KP Local Government Act,” the lawyer argued.