KARACHI: The provincial anti-corruption court on Thursday released the detained Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Shaikh in a case pertaining to lease of government land worth Rs160 million “obtained through forgery”.

Special Judge of Anti-Corruption (Provincial) Naushaba Kazi ruled that: “… Haleem Adil Shaikh is hereby discharged u/s 63 Cr.P.C, as sufficient material is not available on record to implicate him with the alleged crimes.”

The court directed the investigating officer (IO) to release him forthwith, after obtaining a personal bond in a sum of Rs50,000, if he was not required in any other case.

Earlier, IO Abdul Wahab Talbani had produced the PTI leader in the court to seek his 14-day physical remand. He submitted that the PTI leader had not been interrogated since he was arrested in Jamshoro on July 27 and brought to Karachi. He added that the investigation was incomplete and co-accused were yet to be arrested. The state prosecutor supported the IO’s contentions.

However, the judge wrote that it had been observed by superior courts that the Anti-Corruption Police could not question any entry made in the record of rights belonging to private persons, adding that the Sindh High Court in a 2015 judgement had directed the ACE police to keep their hands off from entertaining complaints with regard to any entry in the revenue record belonging to private persons.

The judge noted that the Supreme Court had also observed in its 2004 judgement that the fact as to whether the mutations in dispute were fraudulently entered or not, was yet to be determined by the civil court in civil suit filed by the accused, which was pending adjudication and there was no justification to invoke the jurisdiction of the criminal court.

The judge added that the suspect had already approached the Sindh High Court by way of filing a suit wherein he had alleged that he had applied for the conversion of the lease grant made in his favour from 30 years to 99 years through a letter dated Oct 1, 2008, but such conversion remained pending and unanswered.

The judge said that the SHC had also granted a status quo in favour of the suspect on Jan 2, 2019, hence, it was yet to be determined by the SHC. He observed that the matter was sub-judice, hence no case was made out against him at this stage.

SHC issues notices

Earlier, the Sindh High Court had issued notices to an officer of the Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment investigating officer and provincial law officer on an application against the arrest of Mr Shaikh in the alleged violation of court order.

A brother of Mr Shaikh had filed application on behalf of the accused and submitted that on July 11, the SHC had restrained the ACE from taking coercive action against Mr Shaikh in two pending inquires till Aug 3.

The lawyer for the applicant contended that the petitioner had appeared before ACE Director Zeeshan Hyder Memon in its office in Jamshoro on July 27 and he was given a week to respond to a questionnaire, but Mr Shaikh was detained and handed over to police in an FIR registered on the same day.

The bench put the alleged contemnor as well as the IO and advocate general Sindh on notice for Aug 4.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2022