Lahore High Court's (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti has sought the CCTV footage of anchor-person Imran Riaz Khan's release from jail, informing the Inspector General Prisons and the DPO Sialkot that "I will not let you people do your duty with the stars you have decorated on your shoulders if it is proven that you deceived the court, which appears to be the case."
Chief Justice Bhatti has also directed the IG Prisons to produce the CCTV footage of Imran Riaz Khan's arrival and release from jail by May 15. Furthermore, the CJ has ordered the DPO to present the original record of the "Roznamcha".
The SHO Sialkot has been instructed to provide the records of Imran Riaz Khan's arrest and the details of when and to whom he was handed over.
First Round During the initial proceedings, CJ Bhatti had ordered the IG Prisons to produce anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan by 6 pm.
At that time, IGP Dr Usman Anwar, informed the court that Imran Riaz Khan had been released, assuring the court that he is not in police custody.
As the proceedings resumed, the IG Prisons informed the court that anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan is not in the custody of the jail, stating that he was detained earlier but has been released from jail.
The DPO Sialkot submitted a report to the court, to which CJ Bhatti asked if the report shows that Imran Riaz Khan's arrest was necessary.
The CJ inquired about the place from where Imran Riaz was arrested, to which the DPO replied that he was arrested at the airport, then taken to Cantt police station, and later transferred to jail. The DPO Sialkot further stated that Imran Riaz was released after submitting an affidavit. The CJ Bhatti expressed displeasure and asked about the contradiction between the notification stating a 30-day detention and the claim of his release.
He then questioned the DPO, "So where is Imran Riaz Khan now?" The DPO replied that the SHO took him into custody and then transferred him to jail. "You (DPO) and the IG Prisons are mistaken about me; I will remove your stars and ranks. There is a significant difference between what you are saying and the documents presented before me," remarked CJ Bhatti.
"Both of you will face the consequences, and I will not spare you if any fault is proven on your part," CJ Bhatti emphasised.
Release of anchor-person Aftab Iqbal During the initial proceedings, CJ Bhatti suspended the "detention notification" of renowned anchor-person Aftab Iqbal and directed the relevant authorities to release him immediately.
As the proceedings resumed, anchor-person Aftab Iqbal was brought before the court. CJ Bhatti inquired about the law under which the directive to detain the anchor-person was issued. The law officer replied that, considering the prevailing law and order situation, the deputy commissioner ordered the detention under 3MPO. The law officer argued that the deputy commissioner had the authority to detain someone under the said section.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2023.
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