LHC gives relief to Salman Shehbaz in bounced cheque case

Lahore High Court has declared null and void the order of the Sessions Court regarding registering of a case against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Salman Shahbaz Sharif in a bounced cheque case, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

Chief Justice of the High Court, Miss Alia Neelam, heard the case. During the hearing, Salman Shahbaz’s lawyer argued that Salman was not made a party in the original application. He added that the application did not even include an address, and only a legal notice was sent to his client. 

Salman Shehbaz’s lawyer clarified that five company cheques were stolen and a case was registered. “The other party should have responded in the same FIR instead of filing a separate case in the FIR,” he added.

Salman’s lawyer stressed that the President of the Electronics Traders Association, Muhammad Akhtar, along with another trader, confirmed that a two-month extension for payment was granted on the company’s request. The cheques were handed over in the presence of the police. 

During the hearing, Advocate Syed Faraz Haider Shirazi, the lawyer of Qateel Anwarul Hassan argued that Salman Shahbaz delayed payment and requested more time. 

Advocate Faraz Haider claimed that the cheques were issued in exchange for a laptop purchase order which were bounced on April 22, and the very next day, they filed a case claiming the checks were stolen. 

Chief Justice questioned the pricing of the laptops and said that she never heard of such a cheap laptops. The lawyer responded that these were old laptops and were delivered at different times. 

After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court declared the Sessions Court’s case registration order against Salman Shahbaz as void and null. 

Reporter: Malik Ashraf