The Lahore High Court has dismissed a petition filed against the acquittal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz in a money laundering case, upholding the registrar office’s objection and declaring the plea inadmissible.
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the case related to the Rs16 billion money laundering allegations against Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz.
The petition was filed by Advocate Vishal Ahmed Shakir through senior lawyer Aamir Saeed Raan.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that Shehbaz Sharif secured a favorable decision within 15 days of becoming Prime Minister.
He stated that both Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz had filed acquittal pleas before indictment, which were accepted by the Special Central Court judge, leading to their acquittal.
The lawyer contended that the decision was unlawful, alleging that relief was granted to the accused without proper proceedings.
He maintained that despite the presence of nearly 100 prosecution witnesses, the court issued its verdict without allowing the prosecution to present evidence in a serious case involving billions of rupees, and requested the court to declare the trial court’s decision null and void.
During the proceedings, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum questioned the petitioner’s legal standing, asking how he was an affected party in the case.
She remarked that individuals cannot challenge court decisions after several years without being directly aggrieved and observed that the matter did not fall under public interest litigation.
The court noted that the registrar office had already raised an objection regarding the petitioner not being an affected party and questioned his locus standi in the case.
The Chief Justice further remarked on the delay in approaching the court.
Subsequently, the Lahore High Court upheld the registrar office’s objection and dismissed the petition as inadmissible.