LHC issues notices to Pepco official, SHO

The Lahore High Court here on Friday issued notices for July 18 to Station House Officer Old Anarkali police station and legal advisor of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) in a petition praying to get the FIR registered against owner of a rental power project quashed under section 489-F of PPC.
Petitioner Habibullah Khan through his counsel submitted that he participated in a bid invited by the federal government in 2008 for establishment of rental power projects. Counsel said the petitioner's company M/s Young Gen Power limited being lowest bidder got the project. But the respondent legal advisor of the Pepco, asked him for gratification for the approval of the project.
He said respondent advisor is the son of former LHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Iqbal (late) and the then federal secretary water and power Ismail Qureshi is his brother in-law. Counsel alleged that the respondent legal advisor threatened the petitioner to get his bid cancelled through Ismail Qureshi, the authority, if the petitioner did not bribe him.
Owing to the immense pressure asserted by the respondent advisor, counsel said the petitioner gave up to Rs 9 million to respondent advisor during the period of 2008 and 2010. Petitioner also gave Rs 50, 000 per month to Iqbal as his personal expenses, counsel added.
He said after the bribe paid to the Pepco advisor, an official letter was issued to the petitioner on September 06, 2008, and project was started. But, he said, the respondent had not stopped his illegal demands and again asked the petitioner to give him post-dated cheques of Rs 07 million otherwise he would get the objections put on his project. Therefore, the petitioner issued post-dated cheques to the respondent to keep his project intact, counsel said.
Meanwhile, he said, Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice against rental power projects in 2008 and on its order the petitioner returned an amount of Rs 1,259,614,740 given by the Pepco as project advance and the project came to a halt. Counsel said the respondent when presented the post-dated cheques issued by the petitioner before the bank concerned, the same were dishonoured.