LHC registrar office turns down Rashid’s plea against ACE summon

Justice Farooq Haider will take up petition as an objection case today

The Lahore High Court (LHC)’s registrar office on Thursday refused to entertain a petition of former interior minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid challenging a summon notice issued by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for an inquiry into his role in a government fee scam.

“[The] affidavit doesn’t carry Sheikh Rashid’s signatures,” the registrar’s office said. On Thursday, ACE directed Sheikh Rasheed to appear before it today (Friday). Justice Farooq Haider of the LHC will take up the petition of the former interior minister as an objection case today (Friday).

In his petition, Sheikh Rashid said that the ACE’s conduct was “purely an act of harassment and wholly without jurisdiction”. “The summons issued by the director Anti-Corruption Establishment be declared to be arbitrary wholly without jurisdiction and fraud on the statute, it may be held to be a sheer abuse of process of law and be struck down accordingly,” the plea submitted with the LHC read.
In his petition, Rashid stated that he had private holdings and lands fully declared through tax returns, and had entered into the sale agreement of the said land – measuring 149 kanals, situated in district Attock – for Rs670 million, with a private housing society named Royal Residencia Pvt Limited.

He said he received Rs100 million in advance payment. The rest of the amount was given at the time of the transfer of property in the name of the purchaser.
According to the terms of the agreement, the petitioner was supposed to receive Rs570 million at the time of transfer within a period of one year, from February 23, 2021, to February 23, 2022.

The petitioner has not received the transfer amount as per the agreement, he maintained, adding that the purchaser had issued a cheque in his name that has not so far been cashed, despite the lapse of the one-year period.

He maintained that he has issued a final verbal notice to the buyer to fulfil the terms of the agreement otherwise the petitioner reserves the right to file a civil suit. “It was shocking to me that the respondent (anti-corruption establishment) has illegally unlawfully issued an impugned summons to me to appear before the respondent on July 15 regarding the above-mentioned sale of land,” the petition stated. Rashid argued that the ACE’s conduct was sheer political victimization and without lawful purpose. He requested the court to declare the notice issued by the ACE illegal and set it aside.