LHC quashes case of fraud against VC UAF

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Saturday quashed an alleged case of fraud lodged by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) against Vice Chancellor of University of Agriculture Faisalabad Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan and former registrar Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain

The court allowed the petition and quashed the FIR registered under sections 409, 468, 471, and 420 of the PPC by ACE Faisalabad against the petitions.

Earlier, the counsel of the VC argued that former vice-chancellor Dr. Muhammad Ashraf got registered the FIR against the petitioner for malafide and ulterior motives. He said the purpose of the FIR was to coerce the petitioner to withdraw a petition from the court challenging the appointment of the respondent Dr. Ashraf as the VC of the university. He stated that the NAB had already investigated the same allegations and closed the inquiry, which was later initiated by the ACE in sheer violation of the law.

The court allowing the petition observed that the entire proceedings against the petitioners were orchestrated by respondent Dr. Ashraf with malafide intention and ulterior motive, whose eligibility was challenged by the petitioner to hold the office of the VC being lower in merits. The court noted that apparently, an attempt was made to coerce the VC to lay his hand off for contesting his legitimate right for the post being on merit and unfortunately the convener of the probe committee extended full help to the respondent former VC for achieving his ulterior goals.

The court observed that the petitioners have been given a clean chit by the ACE in two consecutive investigations and a cancellation report has been prepared which was duly forwarded by the prosecution, but the trial court has been sitting over it for over eleven months.

The court further remarked that the petitioners could not be made shuttlecock to run from one court to the other merely on the ground of pendency of the cancellation report. The court rejecting an argument of the respondents, observed that referring the petitioners again to the trial court to pursue the cancellation report would amount to the continuation of the harassment caused by the respondents by initiating the criminal proceedings against them.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024