LAHORE: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Muhammad Qasim Khan has constituted a three-member bench for holding proceedings in the matter concerning the post-arrest bail of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.
According to details, the bench would be headed by Justice Ali Baqir Naji, while Justice Aalia Neelam and Justice Shahbaz Rizvi would be the member of the bench. The bench will rehear the matter and decide the fate of the bail.
On April 14, a division bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar allowed bail to the accused. However, the second member of the bench denied signing the order, saying he would write a dissenting note.
In his dissenting order, Justice Ghural also accused the senior judge of issuing the bail granting short order ‘unilaterally’. “It is shocking for me to observe that unanimous order qua grant of bail to the petitioner was announced, which is against the ground reality,” said Justice Ghural.
Justice Ghural said he brought the matter to the knowledge of the LHC chief justice immediately and requested him to appoint a referee judge to decide the bail matter.
On Saturday, after three days of confusion, it transpired that the matter of the bail will be decided by a referee judge to be appointed by the LHC Chief Justice.
National Assembly Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on September 28, 2020 after the LHC rejected his bail plea in a money laundering case.
