LHC seeks Model Town report for in-camera review

LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday asked the Punjab government to furnish Justice Najafi’s inquiry report into the Model Town incident before the court, but added that the document would be examined in-camera.

The full bench, led by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, issued this order on an appeal moved by the Punjab government against a single-bench’s decision to publicise the report of Model Town incident. The Punjab government’s lawyer, Khawaja Haris, argued that Justice Najafi’s report on the incident was a useless document as the purpose for which the government ordered the inquiry, had been attained.

He said two FIRs were registered on the complaints of the Punjab Police and PAT and the trial court had been conducting a trial. Haris said releasing the Model Town inquiry report might affect the trial and added that the single-bench’s decision should be set aside.  The bench directed Haris to continue his arguments with directives to present the Model Town inquiry report for in-camera examination and adjourned further proceedings till Thursday. 

On the previous hearing, the government’s lawyers had hinted that the report could be presented to the judges, if they wanted, for content examination.