LAHORE (HRNW)- The Lahore High Court has issued a detailed written judgment regarding the dismissal of a petition challenging the acquittal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others in a money laundering case. Chief Justice Miss Aalia Neelum authored the decision to dismiss the plea filed by petitioner Vishal Shakir, who had challenged the acquittal granted in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) money laundering case.
The judgment states that the petitioner is a private individual and not an aggrieved party in the case, whereas the authority to challenge an acquittal rests solely with the federal government or the public prosecutor. The court further noted that the petitioner challenged the acquittal after a significant delay of three years and four months. According to the court, the petitioner’s counsel failed to identify any illegalities in the acquittal order.
The court maintained that the trial court had approved the acquittal due to a lack of concrete evidence against Shehbaz Sharif, emphasizing that the benefit of the doubt is legally granted to the accused. The judgment clarified that the trial court had full access to the record and the authority to evaluate it, concluding that the decision was in accordance with the law. Consequently, the court upheld the Registrar Office’s objections and dismissed the petition against the acquittal.
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