Physical remand for Elahi was rejected by ACE.
The former Chief Minister of Punjab was arrested on judicial remand; the prosecution will appeal the magistrate’s decision.
A judicial magistrate in Lahore rejected the Anti-Corruption Establishment’s (ACE) request for physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) president Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday, sending him instead to jail.
After having charges dropped against him twice in two days, Elahi was detained a third time on Saturday. He was taken into custody by anti-graft authorities in Punjab for allegations of “illegal appointments” to the provincial legislature.
Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk was awarded with Elahi. The ACE asked the judge for the accused person’s physical remand. Elahi’s attorney, Rana Intizar, and the ACE officials got into several heated confrontations during the hearing.
“We will file a FIR [first information report] against the DIG [deputy inspector general of police] if he took Elahi back today,” Intizar insisted. The judge was also very upset with the police officer who conducted the investigation.
The director of ACE said he didn’t have faith in the judge. ACE representatives claimed that Judicial Magistrate Virk had a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook; as a result, the sessions judge should appoint a different judge to the case.
The magistrate’s response was, “If you have objection to my hearing of the case you should go to the sessions court.” He complained that the application had been brought against him and said he did not use social media.
The defense team, according to Rana Intizar’s testimony, was not given a copy of the FIR filed against Elahi. A lawyer for the prosecution said that “they [prosecution] are objecting to the judge” today.
The court delayed its decision on the ACE’s request for remand until later. The judge denied Elahi’s request for physical remand and placed him on 14 days of judicial remand.
The court stated in a brief written ruling that Elahi should be physically remanded for 14 days so that the investigation and recovery could be completed as the accused persons were specifically named in the FIR.
Forensic analysis of Elahi’s phone was requested in the ruling, and the court was informed that Elahi had accepted Rs15 million in bribes in exchange for appointing people to grade-17 positions.
None of the aggrieved parties, other from the complainant, went to the ACE, and the court took note of the fact that all of the recruited candidates were still employed in BS-17 at the Assembly Secretariat with no action taken against them.
Regarding the ACE’s authority, the order stated that it may move forward, but added that the legislation typically offered indemnity to official activities conducted in good faith, but that the disparities in this case seemed to not have been “taken in good faith.”
Even though the FIR included charges that the information was in his phone, the order for his physical remand stated that the phone was necessary for forensic analysis.
The judgment also stated that no evidence should be seized from their custody because all appointment paperwork, testing service results, and records of the Punjab Assembly were presented in court.
It ruled that there was no basis for physical remand and mandated that the “accused persons” and a report be presented in court on June 18.
A spokesperson for the ACE, however, informed reporters that Elahi was brought before Special Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk because “there is a case of illegal recruitment” in the Punjab Assembly.
According to the spokesperson, “we have clear evidence of bias against Special Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk,” and the court had displayed favoritism by acquitting Elahi on June 2. The arrest of Elahi, he said, was “legitimate” and “fulfilled all legal conditions.
“Illegal recruitments and promotions in the Punjab Assembly robbed the province of what is right,” he stated, adding that “the former chief minister recruited personal employees in the Punjab Assembly by destroying the system of merit.”
The ACE spokeswoman stated that the accused must be physically remanded for inquiry in accordance with the law. “It is hoped that the court will hear the case on merit,” the official said.
A representative stated that the magistrate’s decision would be appealed to the Supreme Court. He claimed that the ruling went against the evidence presented by the ACE, and that Elahi should be punished accordingly. There are several problems with the court’s decision issued today, he stated.
Elahi then told the reporters that he had a formidable legal team and would not back down no matter how many cases were filed against him. The ex-chief minister of Punjab also stated that he was unaffiliated with the rioters on May 9.