What could be termed a big relief for the son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Suleman Shehbaz, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday declared a sessions court order to register a bounce cheque case against him null and void. LHC Chief Justice (CJ) Aalia Neelum heard the petition filed by Suleman against the court order. 

Assistant Advocate General Waqas Umar represented the Punjab government in the case, while Syed Faraz Haider Shirazi represented Qateel Anwarul Hassan, on whose petition the court had ordered the registration of a case against the prime minister’s son. Addressing Advocate Shirazi, the chief justice asked him to give arguments so that the case could be decided.

“Please give me time so that I could prepare my arguments in the case,” Shirazi replied. CJ Neelum expressed surprise that when the counsel had given arguments before the additional sessions judge, why he needed more time to prepare the arguments. The chief justice then asked about the police report. Suleman’s lawyer replied that the report was not part of the file. 

He said he had not been made a respondent in the petition, seeking registration of a case against his client. “Only a legal notice was sent to which I had replied,” he added. Advocate Shirazi said that the purchase of laptops had been ordered for which cheques had been given, which bounced back.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)