An Islamabad district and session court has struck down a trial court verdict declaring now-KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as a proclaimed offender in a 2016 case of allegedly carrying alcohol and unlicensed weapons.

District and session judge Shahrukh Arjumand took up the PTI leader’s plea. Lawyer Zahoorul Hasan appeared as Gandapur’s counsel while Mohammed Salman Khan was the prosecutor.

An application seeking an exemption from the hearing was also filed, which was accepted.

The court noted, “The process server did not implement the notices and they could not be received by the suspect.” Subsequently, it quashed the proceedings of sections 87 and 88 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the PTI leader against surety bonds worth Rs50,000 and a local guarantor.

It referred the case back to the trial court and adjourned the hearing till March 14. Earlier, a judicial magistrate had declared Gandapur a PO for not appearing before the court in the case filed at the Bara Kahu police station.