LAHORE: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Tuesday withdrew from the Lahore High Court its petition challenging summoning of video record of the Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) and call detail record (CDR) of investigating officer by the duty judge in the drug case against former law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan.

When a two-judge bench headed by Justice Alia Neelum took up the petition for hearing, an ANF counsel sought the court permission to withdraw the plea.

The bench granted the permission and disposed of the petition as withdrawn.

The ANF had contended that a duty judge was supposed to decide matters of urgent nature only in a case before him. However, it said, the duty judge of a special court for Control of Narcotics Substance (CNS) hearing the case of Khan allowed two applications of the defence and summoned record from the PSCA and a cellular phone company.

It said the duty judge also allowed the video and call data to be made part of the case record.

The petitioner asked the court to set aside the impugned order passed by the duty judge for being illegal.

The ANF had arrested Mr Khan on July 1 and claimed to have recovered 15kg heroin from his possession.

The FIR was lodged under section 9 (C) of the 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 up to Rs1 million.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2019