LAHORE, June 17: The Lahore High Court asked a town nazim on Monday to join investigation of the case registered against him instead of seeking its quashment.

If investigation is not conducted properly, Ravi Town Nazim Aftab Asghar Dar will be free to seek redress from police high-ups, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad said in an order disposing of his quashment petition.

Mr Dar alleged in his petition, filed through Advocate Naseer Ahmad Bhutta, that a bogus case was registered against him by the Ravi Road police station for obstructing construction of toilets at Minar-i-Pakistan.

He said he only told the construction company that no construction could be undertaken without a building plan sanctioned by him as the town Nazim. He was informed that the provincial governor and the district Nazim had authorized the company to construct the toilets.

The petitioner said under the provisions of the Local Government Ordinance, the governor and the district Nazim had no power to sanction construction work in a town or award a contract in this behalf. Yet a criminal case was instituted against him by police at the behest of the construction company under the Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorist Act and the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. He said he was being victimized for his political affiliation and the first information report itself termed him ‘an associate of former premier Nawaz Sharif out to destabilize the government.’

The court observed that it would not like to interfere with the process of registration and investigation of a criminal case and the petitioner could agitate his grievance against the investigators before higher police authorities.