LAHORE: A city magistrate on Tuesday sent former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi on judicial remand in a case of illegal appointments made in Punjab Assembly.
The magistrate passed these orders after the Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended a session’s court’s order that allowed the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to obtain the physical remand of Elahi.
The magistrate also directed the ACE to produce Elahi before the court on June 27.
Elahi told the magistrate that his medical tests had not been conducted properly and he had not been given proper treatment in the jail.
The magistrate ordered the superintendent of the district jail to conduct all medical tests of the suspect, provide him proper treatment and submit a report within three days.
The other day, an additional district and sessions’ judge set aside a decision of the judicial magistrate about denial of physical remand of Elahi to the ACE and his acquittal in the case. The judge had directed the establishment to produce Elahi before the magistrate to seek physical remand for investigation.
As ordered by the sessions’ judge, the ACE produced Elahi before the magistrate and sought 14-day physical remand for completion of the investigation.
However Elahi’s counsel told the magistrate that the LHC suspended the other day’s order of the sessions’ court. He also presented a copy of the order. The magistrate after examining the court orders sent Elahi to jail on judicial remand again.
In a brief conversation with the media persons, PTI president Elahi said he had been kept in a small cell of the jail with no basic facilities.
He said inadequate medical facilities had been provided to him when he was taken to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) with a cardiac complaint. Elahi also said his members were also denied to see him in the jail.
Asked whether he was also going to hold a press conference to quit the PTI, the former chief minister said, “How can I hold a press conference when I have not been allowed to see anyone.”
Meanwhile the LHC heard an appeal of the ACE challenging an order of a Gujranwala judicial magistrate denying physical remand of Elahi in another corruption case. The court issued notice to Elahi and sought his reply by June 22.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023