LAHORE - A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday resented the failure of the Punjab government for not submitting reply in a petition seeking inquiry tribunal’s report of Model Town incident public.
The bench headed by Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan and comprising Justice Anwarul Haq and Justice Abdul Sattar Asghar heard the case filed by a PTI worker. At the outset of hearing, an additional advocate general Punjab appeared in the court and requested the court for more time to submit reply in the matter.
However, Justice Khan observed that eight months had been passed but the government was still seeking more time to file a reply. He remarked that it seemed that the government wanted to protect the authorities concerned involved in the incident of Model Town by not making the inquiry report public. Giving last opportunity to the government to submit reply, the bench adjourned further proceedings till March 03.
During the hearing, Advocate Azhar Siddique told the bench that review committee had been constituted comprising a retired judge. He said a retired judge could not review the inquiry report of a sitting judge under the law.
Minhajul Quran and others had filed petitions submitting that the government was not releasing inquiry report on the incident in which 15 people were killed and 85 others severely injured. The petitioners stated that about 8-month time had been passed but no action or step was taken to bring the culprits to justice. They requested the court to order the provincial government to make the inquiry report public. Justice Ali Baqar Najfi of the LHC held inquiry into the Model Town incident and compiled an inquiry report but since the day of completion it has not been released.