LAHORE, Oct 1: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday asked the provincial government to explain why the trial of a Tehrik-i-Jafria leader had not been concluded despite a six-year lapse.

The court sought the explanation while taking up the bail petition of Ghulam Raza Naqvi, lodged in Multan jail. The court directed the assistant advocate general to update it by the next date of hearing.

Earlier, petitioner’s counsel Jamil Akhtar submitted before the court that his client was arrested in 1997 on the charges of firing on Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan president Maulana Azam Tariq in 1995 and the trial had not been concluded despite the lapse of six years. He submitted that the total period served in jail by the petitioner had exceeded even the term he could be awarded on the charges.

Under the prevalent law, if a criminal case was not concluded within three years after its initiation, the accused had a legal right to be granted bail, he contended.

He maintained that the prosecution had failed to bring any evidence against the petitioner and had been using delaying tactics just to keep him behind the bars.

“No serious attempt has been made by the prosecution to conclude the trial as a result of which his prosecution has been turned into persecution. There are no signs of a timely conclusion of this trial and further imprisonment of the petitioner would be against the norms of justice as his physical condition has already become fragile during the last six years,” the counsel contended while seeking bail on medical grounds.

The counsel contended that the petitioner could not get the medical treatment while being detained in the jail and had been suggested by the doctors to be admitted to a hospital.

The court observed that before deciding the bail petition on its merits, it would like to confirm as to how much time had the petitioner spent in the jail since his arrest and what was the reason for the delay in the conclusion of his trial.