LHC bench formed to hear Hanif Abbasi case dissolved

LAHORE: A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court which was formed to hear the petition filed for suspension of Hanif Abbasi’s life sentence stood dissolved on Tuesday due to transfer of one of the judges to the Multan bench. The bench, headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, was seized with Abbasi's petition for suspension of sentence and his release on bail. However, Justice Dogar had been transferred to LHC Multan bench and now Chief Justice has formed a new bench led by Raja Shahid Mehmood Abbasi. Through his main appeal, Abbasi had requested the bench to set aside his conviction and order release as the trial court had failed to appreciate facts of the case. In July 2018, an anti-narcotics court had convicted Abbasi and sentenced to life in prison in the eight-year-old ephedrine quota case. Earlier, this case was fixed at LHC Rawalpindi Bench but the judges recused themselves from hearing the appeal. The LHC chief justice ordered to fix the matter at Principal Seat while accepting an application filed by Abbasi’s counsel for this purpose.