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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Rizvi’s reply sought on govt’s plea against his bail

By Our Correspondent
July 19, 2019

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi on a Punjab government’s appeal for cancellation of his bail in a case of leading violent protests against acquittal of Christian woman Asia Bibi.

As a two-judge bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik resumed hearing, Additional Prosecutor General Mazhar Sher Awan appeared to plead the government’s appeal and argued that the Lahore High Court (LHC) ignored facts and evidence of the case when granted bail to the respondent.

However, the prosecutor had no appropriate answer to a court’s query about legal flaws in the Lahore High Court bail granting verdict. “What you are trying to tell us are the facts of the case but we need to know legal points involved in it,” Justice Malik annoyingly said to the prosecutor when he was talking about the anti-judiciary speeches by Rizvi.

“You are not conversant with the merits of the case. Who has drafted this appeal?” the judge further asked the additional prosecutor. Justice Malik seriously irked with the unpreparedness of the prosecutor and rebuked him for describing the complainant of the case against Rizvi as one of the suspects.

The bench adjourned hearing for a week and issued a notice to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan chief seeking his reply to the government’s appeal. A Lahore High Court division bench had on May 14 last released Rizvi on bail with an observation that he was about 54 years of age and admittedly was an infirm and incapacitated person and in this respect a report from National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) was part of the file according to which he was wholly incapable of moving his half body towards middle belt to foot.

The bench noted that the prosecution had not refuted the medical report. The bench had also granted bail to Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan patron-in-chief Pir Afzal Qadri; however, conditionally and on medical grounds.

Civil Lines police had registered the FIR under Section 290/291/353/427/186/188 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Section 6 of Sound System Punjab Ordinance 2015 and Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 against the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan leaders after they led violent protests against the acquittal of Christian woman Aasia Bibi of blasphemy charge.