Kanju challenges court order declaring him a proclaimed offender
His counsel given till April 2 to argue on maintainability of the plea
A file photo of Mustafa Kanju. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE:
An additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) on Friday gave till April 2 to the counsel for Mustafa Kanju, son of former state minister Siddique Kanju, to argue the maintainability of his petition seeking cancellation of a judicial magistrate’s order declaring Kanju a proclaimed offender.
The order was issued over Kanju’s failure to appear in the court for his trial for possessing an unlicensed weapon.
Earlier, Kanju was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) of charges of killing a passerby, Zain Mahmood, following an argument over a car accident in Cavalry Ground area.
In the criminal revision petition, Kanju’s counsel submitted that after his acquittal in the murder case he had gone abroad where he had contracted illness. He said the trial court was informed about Kanju’s health situation. Medical certificates were also submitted in the court, he added.
The counsel said, the trial court had proceeded with the matter without taking these facts into consideration and declared his client a proclaimed offender. The court had also directed the Lodhran assistant collector to attach his property and summoned record of all properties owned by Kanju.
The counsel submitted that the trial court had issued the order without reviewing the case record or giving his client an opportunity to defend himself.
On Friday, the ADSJ observed that Kanju’s counsel had not been able to present a convincing argument regarding his failure to obtain court’s approval before leaving the country. He said Kanju could have moved an application before the trial court seeking exemption from personal attendance.
A witness to the Friday’s hearing told The Express Tribune that when asked by the judge how he had managed to obtain Kanju’s signatures on the power of attorney if he was abroad, Kanju’s counsel did not have an immediate response. The FIR registered in the murder case had stated that Kanju shot and killed Zain and injured another youngster in Cavalry Ground’s Street 4. Kanju and his security guards were taken into custody. They were acquitted after prosecution witnesses refused to testify against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2016.
An additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) on Friday gave till April 2 to the counsel for Mustafa Kanju, son of former state minister Siddique Kanju, to argue the maintainability of his petition seeking cancellation of a judicial magistrate’s order declaring Kanju a proclaimed offender.
The order was issued over Kanju’s failure to appear in the court for his trial for possessing an unlicensed weapon.
Earlier, Kanju was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) of charges of killing a passerby, Zain Mahmood, following an argument over a car accident in Cavalry Ground area.
In the criminal revision petition, Kanju’s counsel submitted that after his acquittal in the murder case he had gone abroad where he had contracted illness. He said the trial court was informed about Kanju’s health situation. Medical certificates were also submitted in the court, he added.
The counsel said, the trial court had proceeded with the matter without taking these facts into consideration and declared his client a proclaimed offender. The court had also directed the Lodhran assistant collector to attach his property and summoned record of all properties owned by Kanju.
The counsel submitted that the trial court had issued the order without reviewing the case record or giving his client an opportunity to defend himself.
On Friday, the ADSJ observed that Kanju’s counsel had not been able to present a convincing argument regarding his failure to obtain court’s approval before leaving the country. He said Kanju could have moved an application before the trial court seeking exemption from personal attendance.
A witness to the Friday’s hearing told The Express Tribune that when asked by the judge how he had managed to obtain Kanju’s signatures on the power of attorney if he was abroad, Kanju’s counsel did not have an immediate response. The FIR registered in the murder case had stated that Kanju shot and killed Zain and injured another youngster in Cavalry Ground’s Street 4. Kanju and his security guards were taken into custody. They were acquitted after prosecution witnesses refused to testify against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2016.