LHC adjourns hearing of Babar Azam's plea

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday adjourned hearing of a petition, filed by skipper of national cricket team Babar Azam, challenging orders for registration of the case against him, for a month.

The court remarked that the matter would be heard after Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches.

The single bench comprising Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural heard the petition filed by Babar Azam.

Babar Azam had assailed orders of sessions court, stating that the court had on January 14 ordered SHO Naseerabad to record the statement of Hamiza Mukhtar under Section 154 of CrPC and proceed as per law, while disposing of her application for registration of case against him for allegedly raping, harassing and blackmailing her.

He submitted that the judge ignored case facts and did not apply his judicial mind while deciding the case. He submitted that Hamiza Mukhtar had filed the false application with the intention of blackmailing him. He submitted that the matter had been resolved after the parties reached a compromise in 2018. He submitted that the police had also reported that claims of Hamiza Mukhtar about threatening calls were not true.

He pleaded with the court to set aside the orders being illegal. He requested to stop implementation of the orders till the final decision of the petition.

It is pertinent to mention here that the LHC had suspended orders of the sessions court for registration of the case.