Orient labs: Bail petition verdict today

LAHORE: Additional District and Sessions Judge Malik Tariq Mehmood Zargham announced on Monday he will give his verdict regarding the post-arrest bail of Zubair Iqbal, an Orient Labs director, on Tuesday (today). Iqbal is accused of negligence leading to building collapse in which 26 people lost their lives. On Monday, the police submitted the case record. Advocate Khalid Rasheed, counsel for one of the affected people, had earlier said that the owners of the factory were aware of the dilapidated condition of the building. He told the court that his client had submitted more than 20 applications to the Environment Protection Department, the Lahore Development Authority and Industries Department seeking action against the factory in the residential area. Counsel for Iqbal said that Section 302 did not apply in the case. He said the collapse was an accident and not as a result of negligence.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2012.