LHC suspends Sana’s arrest warrant

The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Friday suspended Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s arrest warrant issued in an inquiry related to the purchase of plots in a housing society at a “throwaway price”.

Last week, the court of Special Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Akbar had issued the arrest warrant for the minister. According to Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister for Anti-Corruption Brigadier (retd) Musaddiq Abbasi, the interior minister had taken two plots as “bribe” from an “illegal” housing society in the Chakwal district.

Taking up the petition filed by the counsel for the minister, Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan stopped the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) from arresting the minister and raiding his house. The court has sought the case record from ACE by October 17.

The petition sought withdrawal of the non-bailable arrest warrant against the minister. It noted that under Section 76 of the CrPC, the court can authorise the investigating officer to receive bail bonds.

Further, the petition had accused the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of “misrepresenting” facts in obtaining the arrest warrant.

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"Rana Sanaullah is in Islamabad, not hiding anywhere, so the warrant of arrest should be withdrawn and the investigating officer should be ordered to receive bail bonds," the plea stated.

“Record reflects that [the] contention of the IO [investigation officer] is genuine, hence, the same is accepted in the interest of justice and a non-bailable warrant of arrest of the accused namely Rana Sana Ullah Khan s/o Sher Muhammad is issued accordingly,” the LHC judge Ghulam Akbar had stated in the earlier order.

The court documents showed that an FIR No 20/19 under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.,) 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 109 (punishment of abetment) read with Section 5(2) (criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, had been registered against the minister.

As per the documents, ACE had maintained before the court that the minister was nominated in the FIR and that his arrest was necessary for the case.