Jail superintendent ordered to decide on Rana Sanaullah's plea for home-cooked food

Published September 13, 2019
PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah. — DawnNewsTV/File
PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah. — DawnNewsTV/File

A sessions court in Lahore on Friday ordered the authorities at Lahore's Camp Jail to decide on PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah's plea seeking home-cooked food delivered to him in jail.

Judge Qaiser Nazir Butt, while pronouncing the reserved decision, ordered Jail Superintendent Asad Warriach to decide the matter as soon as possible as per the law and on the basis of a medical report of the under-trial prisoner.

The judge also directed authorities to send copies of the decision and the report by a medical board to the jail superintendent.

The court had reserved the decision on September 11, while a medical report of the PML-N leader was submitted in the court on September 5.

During the hearing of the petition, Advocate Farhad Ali Shah had contended that Sanaullah is a heart patient and needs a home-cooked diet as the meal provided to him in jail is not good for his health.

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) had arrested Sanaullah on July 1 in a narcotics case and the next day a judicial magistrate sent him to jail on judicial remand.

According to ANF, 15 kilogrammes of heroin was found in the PML-N leader's possession. A case was lodged against him under Section 9(C) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, which carries the death penalty, life imprisonment or a jail-term that may extend to 14 years along with a fine of up to Rs1 million.

In July, the same court had rejected Rana Sanaullah's petition to have home-cooked food delivered to him in jail. While rejecting his request, the same judge had directed the PML-N leader to approach the jail superintendent, which he said was the relevant forum for his request.

Later, Sanaullah submitted an application to the jail superintendent for the home-cooked meal facility. The request was not responded to, so the petitioner once again approached the court for action.

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