RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench has granted major relief to former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi by suspending a decision made by the accountability court.
The two-member bench, comprising Justice Shahram Sarwar and Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi, issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while hearing Elahi’s writ petition.
The bench suspended the accountability court’s order in graft case and exempted him from personal appearances before the NAB court.
Elahi was represented by advocates Sardar Abdul Razzaq Khan and Aamir Saeed Raan before the High Court’s division bench.
During the hearing, Elahi’s lawyer argued that the former chief minister is an elderly politician and is currently undergoing medical treatment in Lahore due to ill health, making it difficult for him to appear in court on every hearing date. The trial court had unlawfully dismissed his application for exemption from personal appearance, the lawyer claimed. Justice Shahram Sarwar questioned the NAB prosecutor about their objection to granting Elahi an exemption. The prosecutor responded that Elahi’s illness was not severe enough to warrant such relief. After the preliminary hearing, the court admitted the petition for regular proceedings, suspended the accountability court’s earlier decision, and issued notices to NAB for a detailed hearing. –Agencies
