The Anti Narcotics Force on Tuesday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) to appeal against a special court's refusal to indict PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah in a drug case, as well as allow daily hearings of the matter.

The ANF informed the LHC that a drug case had been registered against Sanaullah on July 1 and that the case was pending before a special court for Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS).

A judge of the CNS court, Khalid Bashir, had ordered to make evidence against Sanaullah a part of the record before charge-sheeting the suspect. According to the petition filed in the LHC, the court had rejected the ANF's plea to charge-sheet the suspect and start hearing the case on a daily basis.

District & Sessions Judge Bashir on Oct 18 had observed that he was hearing the case as a duty judge till the appointment of a regular incumbent. He said a duty judge was supposed to hear day-to-day proceedings or cases of an urgent nature only.

The ANF had arrested Sanaullah on July 1, claiming to have recovered 15-kg heroin from his vehicle. The FIR was lodged under section 9 (C) of Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997, which carries death penalty or life imprisonment or a jail-term that may extend to 14 years along with a fine upto Rs1 million.