LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday issued an important decision regarding the registration of a second FIR in the alleged kick-backs case against former Punjab CM Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.
The court declared that FIR No. 42 cannot be maintained under the law and is hereby cancelled, in a decision delivered by Justice Amjad Rafiq in a three-page judgment.
According to the judgment, the petitioner had requested the cancellation of FIR No. 42/24 (dated 28 December 2024) which was registered in the Anti-Corruption Headquarters Gujranwala in the alleged development project “Gujrat to Lakhuwal Old GT Road”. The petition argued that the new FIR essentially represents a continuation of earlier two cases.
The lawyer for the petitioner pointed out that the first FIR (No. 07 dated 28 March 2023) was filed in the Anti-Corruption Lahore and the second FIR (No. 42/24) in Gujranwala, both alleging identical charges of receiving commission and bribes. Therefore, the registration of a new FIR for the same offence was unlawful.
The judgment further notes that the petitioner has already faced proceedings before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the same allegations. Thus, initiating a second case on identical charges amounts to double jeopardy. The court observed that though the three FIRs involve nearly the same accused persons, the charges have been split into different parts.
The court held that in principle all offences relating to a single transaction ought to be included in a single FIR; if, during investigation, new evidence or persons emerge, those may be added or further sections applied.
The court ruled that the petitioner’s position is legally correct and the current FIR violates the principles established by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Accordingly FIR No. 42 is cancelled. However, the court directed that if the Anti-Corruption Establishment considers it appropriate, the relevant allegations may be legally incorporated into the already-filed FIR.
