The Lahore High Court on Tuesday suspended the decision of the district and sessions court granting the Anti-Corruption Establishment the physical remand of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in a case pertaining to the illegal recruitment in the provincial assembly.

Justice Waheed Khan heard the plea of Elahi filed by his counsels Ishtiaq A Khan and Chaudhry Farman Munis in which ACE and others had been made parties.

On June 4, a judicial magistrate had ordered Elahi to be transferred to jail on judicial remand. On June 12, an additional sessions judge allowed ACE the physical remand again.

However, Elahi’s counsels pleaded that the order to cancel the judicial remand of Elahi should be declared illegal, requesting the court to keep the former CM in jail on judicial remand.

They pleaded the court that the decision of the additional sessions judge should be suspended pending the final decision of the appeal.

“Demand for physical remand is groundless. The court should declare the decision of the sessions court null and void.”

The LHC suspended the district and sessions court’s impugned order, seeking replies from the quarters concerned.

As Elahi’s legal team produced LHC’s order before the magisterial court, Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk sent Elahi on judicial remand. However, the court also directed the quarters concerned to produce the accused persons, including Elahi, by June 27 along with a report under Section 173 of CrPC.

Elahi complains

During the proceedings as former CM Elahi took to the rostrum, he complained to the court that his medical test had not been conducted properly and he was not being given proper treatment in jail.

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The LHC directed the Lahore district jail superintendent to conduct all the medial tests of the accused, provide him proper treatment, and submit his report within three days.

District and sessions court

Earlier, the district and sessions court had granted the ACE a 14-day physical remand of Elahi.

During the proceedings, the ACE lawyers had argued that recruitment was made in Punjab Assembly without merit.

“Candidates who passed the Open Testing Service have been ignored,” the ACE lawyers said, adding that Elahi had played an important role in this matter.

“Pervaiz Elahi is the main protagonist of this crime. We have to investigate him and recover various things.”

According to the law, they said, things like personal mobile phone etc had to be recovered and submitted as evidence.”

They said that accused Elahi was the chairman of the recruitment committee.

After hearing the arguments, the additional sessions judge had granted ACE physical remand of Elahi.