The Lahore High Court (LHC) has upheld the dismissal of Civil Judge Sheikh Ali Jafar, who served as a Returning Officer (RO) and was found guilty of tampering with official election results.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi, ruled that the judge acted beyond his authority by altering election outcomes nearly a month after the official declaration. The court found that votes of the winning candidate, Asghar Ali Asghar, were unlawfully reduced and awarded to the losing candidate, Maqbool Ahmed Javed.
Testimonies revealed that the judge, along with others involved, even pleaded for forgiveness once the misconduct surfaced. The altered results were submitted directly to the Provincial Election Commission, bypassing the proper channel via the District Returning Officer (DRO), and no notice was issued to the affected parties.
Despite receiving temporary relief from the Service Tribunal, a comprehensive inquiry confirmed Sheikh Ali Jafar’s misconduct. The LHC concluded that the judge had no legal authority to alter declared results and deemed his dismissal fully justified.
