Chief Justice Aalia Neelum of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has set aside a district court’s order directing the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son, Suleman Shehbaz, in a cheque dishonour case.
The high court held that the lower court failed to properly examine the facts of the matter.
Suleman Shehbaz had challenged the July 10 order issued by the district judge, which instructed police to register an FIR against him on charges of issuing a bounced cheque.
During the LHC proceedings, Suleman’s counsel contended that the district court’s decision was not only contrary to law but also passed without a proper review of the factual background.
The respondent’s counsel alleged that Suleman’s company had purchased 17 laptops and issued a cheque for Rs 600,000 in payment, which was later dishonoured.
However, Suleman’s counsel countered that no laptops were ever delivered to the company’s office. He further argued that the cheques in question were stolen by company employees and wrongfully handed over to the respondent. An FIR had already been registered against those individuals, he added.
“The company has no connection with these cheques,” the counsel asserted.
Chief justice also questioned the respondent’s legal team for failing to specify the date of the alleged laptop purchase. She noted that no purchase receipts bore any official stamp either.
After hearing arguments from both sides, chief justice ruled in favour of the petitioner and annulled the district court’s order.
