PESHAWAR, Sept 24: Real estate tycoon Malik Riaz on Monday withdrew his petition from the a single-member Peshawar High Court bench for grant of transit bail in a land fraud case registered by Punjab’s anti-corruption establishment (ACE).
Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan was informed by the petitioner’s lawyer, Abdul Lateef Afridi, that he had received instructions from his client to withdraw the petition.
Malik Riaz had field the petition on last Friday but the case could not be heard as the chief justice was away in Abbottabad and the relevant judge whom the senior puisne judge had marked the case to had left the court after completion of his day’s work. He had requested the court to grant him transit/protective bail so that he could appear before the relevant court in Punjab.
Mr Afridi said the attitude adopted by the relevant office on Friday was not appropriate.
He said it had remained a normal practice in the past that in absence of the chief justice, the senior puisne judge marked the case for hearing in emergency. However, he added that on Friday, senior judge Miftauddin Khan marked the case to Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, but the office didn’t prepare supplementary cause list so that the petition could be heard.
The chief justice observed that under the rules, when the chief justice was functioning, he had the responsibility to mark the cases. He added that under the rules, in the presence of the chief justice, such powers could not be delegated to other judges.Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan said in the administrative committee meeting of the high court, they would discuss the matter and try to evolve a mechanism so that in case of an emergency when a chief justice was out of town, the senior puisne judge could be empowered to make a decision about such issues.
The ACE has alleged that through fraudulent means and in connivance with the officials of revenue department land measuring 1401 kanals in Rawalpindi was transferred to the name of Bahria Town.
The petitioner has claimed that the FIR of the case was registered by the ACE on Nov 14, 2009, and initially he was not charged in it. He added that a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA used his influence to implicate him in the case later on.
The petitioner claimed that he was granted transit/protective bail by the Supreme Court until Sept 20. The Supreme Court had granted transit bail to Malik Riaz on Aug 30 and issued a stay order against warrant of arrest of the accused issued by the special judge anti-corruption, Rawalpindi, on June 21 in the instant case.
Meanwhile, the chief justice on Monday dismissed a bail petition of an alleged pickpocket.Faqirabad police arrested Ahsanullah on July 12 suspecting he had pick pockets of around 40 persons during the funeral of father of an official of Crimes Investigation Department, Akhundzada Inamullah. They said some stolen items were recovered, including ATM Card and cheque book of Inamullah, from the suspect.
The suspect, however, said he found the said items at some place and was arrested when he was on the way to the police station to hand them over to police.