Gullu Butt bail petition dismissed

LAHORE
A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed Gullu Butt petition seeking suspension of his jail term and release on bail.
The bench comprising Justice Abdul Sami Khan and Justice James Joseph observed that numerous judgments of Supreme Court discouraged suspension of the sentence, particularly awarded under Anti-Terrorism Act, before final decision of the main appeal against the punishment. Shahid Aziz alias Gullu Butt was convicted for smashing private vehicles with a club parked outside the Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town on June 17, 2014 during an ‘anti-encroachment’ operation by police and city administration. He was sentenced to 11 years jail by an anti-terrorism court.
Counsel for Butt pleaded that the trial court sentenced his client acting beyond the law. He said the trial was defective and lacked merits. He said not a single complaint was lodged against Butt but he was given discriminatory treatment.
The counsel asked the court to suspend the sentence and release Butt on bail. A deputy prosecutor told the court that a punishment awarded under Anti-Terrorism Act could not be suspended by the high court. He said the Supreme Court recently issued a judgment and ruled that the apex court had the jurisdiction to suspend sentences awarded under the Anti-Terrorism Law.