LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday sustained an objection on the maintainability of a petition filed against the acquittal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his sons in a Rs16bn money laundering case.

LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the plea filed by a young lawyer as an “objection case”. The office of the LHC’s registrar had objected to the maintainability of the petition, questioning the locus standi (the right to bring a legal action to a court) to agitate the matter.

During the hearing, the chief justice asked the petitioner’s counsel, Amir Saeed Rawn, how his client was an aggrieved party in the matter.

The LHC chief justice noted that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the prosecuting agency, had not filed any appeal against the acquittal judgment of the trial court.

To the court’s query, the counsel said the decision was issued in December 2022 despite the availability of substantial evidence in the case. He alleged that the FIA had colluded with the accused to secure the acquittal from the trial court.

The counsel further contended that courts could be approached even with a delay in matters of public interest.

However, Chief Justice Neelum upheld the objection raised by the registrar’s office.

Legal experts say that an appeal against acquittal or conviction in criminal cases can only be filed by the prosecution or the defence.

The FIA had booked PM Shehbaz and his sons — Hamza and Suleman Shehbaz — in November 2020 under Sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Section 3/4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.

In October 2022, a special court had acquitted PM Shehbaz and his son Hamza in the money laundering case, saying there was no probability of conviction even if the prosecution’s evidence collected during the investigation was recorded. In July 2023, the trial court also acquitted Suleman.

The trial court had also ordered the Establishment Division secretary to initiate action against former adviser to the prime minister on accountability, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, and officials of the FIA for launching a frivolous and baseless prosecution against PM Shehbaz and other suspects in the case.

Akbar had also filed an appeal in the LHC challenging the trial court’s order. However, his appeal was dismissed for non-prosecution in 2025.