LAHORE, June 29: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday dismissed a habeas corpus petition, which contended that former Punjab chief minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif was in illegal custody of the rulers and he should be produced in a court of law.

The petition was moved on June 22 by the Pakistan Lawyers Forum through its president advocate A K Dogar, who submitted that forcible deportation of Shahbaz Sharif on May 11 was an act of abduction. He deposed that the rulers took the PML-N president to an unknown destination and this amounted to confining him in unlawful custody.

The petitioner requested the court to issue a writ against the federal government with the direction that Mr Sharif be produced in a court so that he could seek his release on bail or take any other suitable legal step to secure his future, which was at stake.

He alleged that the rulers were bent on politically victimizing Mr Sharif. The high court registrar office raised the objection that the PLF had no locus standi in raising such issues. It also objected to the petition as not maintainable.

The high court upheld the objection, holding that the PLF was in no manner an aggrieved party and had no locus standi to raise the question about Mr Sharif. The court also held that the forum was not directly or indirectly affected by the action.

This is the second time in a month that a similar question was dismissed by the high court and on both occasions the plea was heard as objection petition and the office objection upheld.