Pakistan

Court cancels arrest warrant for Moonis Elahi

An additional district and sessions judge has revoked the arrest warrant of Moonis Elahi.

February 23, 2011

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions judge on Wednesday revoked the arrest warrants of Moonis Elahi in connection with his alleged involvement in the National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) scam.

The court also suspended orders by Judicial Magistrate Irfan Basra for starting proceedings to declare Moonis Elahi a proclaimed offender in the case.

The additional district and sessions judge Muhammad Yousaf passed the order on a petition filed by Moonis Elahi through his counsel Aamir Saeed submitting that the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) had misguided the court just for getting arrest warrants of Moonis on January 28.

He said that the FIA had summoned Moonis to join the investigations and a representative of his client had submitted a written reply to the FIA on January 27 wherein it was stated that his client was not in Pakistan and would join the investigations within seven days but the FIA issued the arrest warrant the very next day which was a violation of the law.

The counsel pointed out that since the FIA had obtained the arrest warrants by misguiding the magisterial court, subsequent proceedings of declaring Moonis as an offender were nullified according to the law.

The FIA counsel had also submitted a written reply in this regard.

Moonis Elahi, who returned from England today, while speaking to the media at the airport in Karachi today said he had "come back to give a formidable reply to all the allegations against me and my party, and very soon we will expose all those who are involved in this conspiracy".

Earlier, the court reserved the decision after hearing both the parties which was announced here today.

A judicial magistrate, Irfan Basra, had started proceedings to declare Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi a aproclaimed offender by issuing non-bailable arrest warrants for him.

COMMENTS (4)

Mashud Ali | 13 years ago | Reply Moonis Elahi is the only leader of the Pakistan who came back to Pakistan to face the trial. He will be proved not guilty because everyone knows that this is a fake against him. He has no connection with NICL scam.

Sohail Bhatti | 13 years ago | Reply @billo, is not getting the bail is legal? Bail is also the part of process.Moonis Elahi has the right to get bail. Let him clarify the allegations in court. Don't be so upset just on his bail.

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ali khan | 13 years ago | Reply Billoo, Obviously you have no clue about the laws of Pakistan. People have been granted bails in the past while they were out of the country. There is a word called "precedent" ( yes, this is the time you grab a dictionary). Lost for words I agree with you. Moonis is a moron for not having accommodated you while he was helping his other friends. Dont be jealous...

Billoo Bhaya | 13 years ago | Reply I want someone to illuminate to me as to how an AD&S Judge can grant bail to an alleged absconder declared so in another court on the basis of a petition filed by his lawyer? The reason I ask this question is that if Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan who were not involved in embezzlement, had not committed a felony but violated a District Judge's misdemeanor restrictive order on substance abuse, can be arrested upon arrival from overseas at any airport in the US or arrested if anywhere within the US has to be produced before the same judge for a hearing. In the meantime the alleged violator is handcuffed, held in jail and produced before the District Judge on the date a hearing is granted. The Judge at that time can send the violator to prison or pass a lesser sentence upon hearing arguments from lawyers of both sides. The issues I have and seek a clarification are: How does an AD&J Judge in Sindh grant bail when the alleged violator is not even present and the judge has not heard any arguments on that issue from lawyers representing both sides? Moonis Elahi's petition states that FIA's lawyers had misguided the Judicial Magistrate in Lahore to extract an arrest warrant. If that is so, then shouldn't the AD&J order those lawyers misrepresenting the FIA to be arrested along with officers of FIA who violated the law by giving their lawyers such instructions? If bail by AD&J judge is granted to Moonis Elahi, aren’t all proceedings against Moonis Elahi still sub-judice? If so, then why is Moonis Elahi holding press conference at Jinnah Terminal in Karachi? Is he violating any law in doing so? Why are politicians and their progeny whom we know to violate the law on a daily basis given so much latitude? (Isn't this the same Moonis Elahi who thrashed President Musharraf's relative on Main Boulevard in Gulberg and then had to disappear overseas until Musharraf's anger had subsided) Does not the Judiciary itself become an interested party in the proceedings by granting such bails, by setting aside a Judicial Magistrate's order, without hearing why the Magistrate passed this order? I can bet that AD&J has none and had none any of the court filings made by FIA in the Magistrate's court. The AD&J granted bail on a lawyer’s petition, which could be a pack of lies and equally malafide? In that event would the lawyer misrepresenting his client in the Court of an AD&J under oath go to jail for doing so?? Does he violate any law herein? By granting bail is not the AD&J Judge violating the Jurisdictional aspects of the Judicial Magistrate's Court. Basically I am at a loss to understand court proceedings in Pakistan. I know if I violated Anglo-Saxon law where it is practiced such court shenanigans do not happen. And if a warrant of arrest against me were to be issued I would be arrested and produced before the court that issued the arrest warrant. Even if I committed a traffic violation, I have to appear in the court at a hearing within the jurisdiction of the area where that violation occurred. For example, if I was given a citation for violating speed restriction by a police officer in say Los Angeles, California and I lived in New York I would have to appear at my own cost in the court in California on the date of hearing. WHY IS THAT NOT SO IN PAKISTAN??? WERE IT TO BE SO, WOULD NOT THE RULE OF LAW PREVAIL?? Thank you for your responses.

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