Rawalpindi-The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench Justice Sadaqat Ali on Monday remarked that the officials of Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) would be sent to jail if they failed in providing solid evidence and witnesses against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah who is facing an inquiry on charges of taking two plots in a private housing society as bribe.
“Just forget the NOC of the housing society and provide court order and witnesses against Rana Sanaullah whom you had made a number 1 proclaimed offender of Pakistan. Investigators of the anti-corruption department will be sent to jail if they failed in proving the corruption allegations against the petitioner,” the judge observed while taking up petition filed by Rana Sanaullah for suspension of arrest warrants and abashment of two FIRs registered by anti-graft body against him. The court also expressed its immense resentment and anger over non-appearance of Director General (DG) ACE Punjab and summoned him in person with case record till October 28, 2022.
Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan grilled the officials of ACE Rawalpindi Region for their failure to produce before him the evidence against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan in a corruption inquiry pending against him with anti-graft body for purchase of plots in a housing society at cheaper rates. The court also suspended the arrest warrants of Rana Sanaullah that were earlier issued by a lower court on plea of ACE Rawalpindi region.
The court took a serious notice of absence of DG ACE Punjab, observing,
“It seemed the anti-graft body investigators had put the name of Rana Sanaullah in arrest warrants with wrong intensions.”
The court postponed hearing in the case till October 28, 2022 by issuing summons to DG ACE Punjab to appear with case record on the next date of hearing.
Earlier, Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Anti-Corruption Brig (retd) Musaddiq Abbasi had alleged that Rana Sanaullah took two plots as ‘bribe’ from an illegal housing society, the Bismillah Housing Scheme in Chakwal district.
Anti-graft body had obtained the arrest warrants of Rana since he allegedly failed to comply with the repeated summons in a case registered with the ACE police station.