LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Tuesday referred the bail petitions filed by Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz to the LHC chief justice, requesting him to fix them before another bench after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader expressed distrust in the bench.
The bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard the pre-arrest bail petitions, filed by Hamza in Ramzan Sugar Mills, Saaf Pani and assets cases.
During the proceedings, Hamza expressed his distrust in the bench, saying that he respected the judiciary and was not afraid of his arrest. He added that he returned to Pakistan while leaving his ailing daughter in London.
Referring to an interview by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, he submitted that Justice (r) Javed Iqbal claimed that the bench had changed now, and Hamza Shehbaz could not hide behind the bail.
Hamza submitted that people would question whether the NAB chairman had become powerful enough that he could get the bench changed. Hamza pleaded with the court to transfer his bail petitions to another bench.
Subsequently, the bench excused from hearing the bail petitions and referred them to LHC chief justice for fixing the same before another bench. The bench also extended interim bail of Hamza Shehbaz.
Earlier, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz gave arguments on behalf of Hamza Shehbaz in Ramzan Sugar Mills case.