LAHORE: A customs appellate tribunal of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to customs authorities for December 22 on plea against indictment of model Ayyan Ali in currency smuggling case.
The tribunal comprising Justice Abdul Sami Khan heard the review petition filed by Ayyan Ali against her indictment.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel arguing before the court submitted that the trial court dismissed acquittal application filed by Ayyan Ali less than 265K of CrPC on November 11 and appeal against the dismissal of acquittal application was not yet fixed for hearing.
He contended that the charges levelled against the accused were baseless and there was no chance of her conviction. But, the trial court framed charges against the accused without any justification, he added.
He further pointed out that copies of documents collected during investigation were also not provided and it was a clear violation of section 265 K of CrPC. He contended that the indictment orders and subsequent proceedings were not maintainable.
He pleaded the court to set aside the indictment of Ayyan Ali. The tribunal after hearing arguments issued notices to customs authorities for December 22 and also sought case record.
The tribunal also allowed application filed by Ayyan’s counsel for converting appeal against indictment into a review petition.
Ayyan Ali was arrested on charges of money laundering earlier in March this year after being caught with over half a million dollars by customs officials at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA).
The supermodel was granted bail in July after spending around four months in Rawalpindi’s notorious Adiala Jail Ä and after her judicial remand was extended 16 times.
