LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench has dismissed NAB’s appeal against acquittal of Anwar Saifullah Khan and maintained the judgment of Accountability Court in which he and others were acquitted from the charges leveled against them in the NAB Reference No. 7 of 2000.
The Division Bench of Lahore High Court at Rawalpindi Bench, consisting of Justice Syed Muhammad Kazim Raza Shamsi and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard the appeal.
The Bench heard the counsels for the parties and perused the available record. The Court observed that officers of Directorate Gas had admitted that nowhere they found any signatures or initial of Anwar Saifullah Khan. The trial court has rightly observed that Anwar Saifullah Khan, being Minister tried to accommodate different federating units to cater the requirements of remote area and that the government revenue did not suffer in any way.
He has not done anything unusual and has followed the past practice. The allocation of gas was a policy decision and no rules were referred which were allegedly violated by him. As far as allegations against Safdar Ali Abbasi that he applied for the quota without having experience in the LPG field as Mehran Gas Company was a newly born company are concerned, suffice it to say that officers of Directorate Gas had not stated a word that he in the capacity of Senator of ruling party exercised his influence upon the Minister to get quota who in fact had never applied for the issuance of said quota.
As the impugned order did not appear to be shockingly perverse and was based upon evidence and correct appreciation of law, the Bench did not find any exception in the order of acquittal passed by the learned trial court and, therefore, dismissed the appeal. The Judgment consisted on 12 pages has been written by the Mr. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.
