SC declares recounting in 3 Punjab constituencies as void, overturning LHC’s ruling

On Monday, the Supreme Court overturned the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) ruling that nullified the vote recount in three National Assembly constituencies where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates had won.

A three-member bench, with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, delivered the reserved verdict with a 2-1 majority in response to the petitions filed by the PML-N leaders. Objections were raised in NA-154 Lodhran, NA-81 Gujranwala, and NA-79 Gujranwala.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) had declared the recount declare as null and restored independent candidates to their positions.

Azhar Qayyum Nahra, a Muslim League (N) leader had challenged the Lahore High Court ruling to suspend the notification of his victory in NA-81. In the 2024 general elections, PTI-backed independent candidate Chaudhry Bilal emerged as the winner with a lead of 7,791 votes.