"I am only answerable to Almighty Allah and the decision would have been on merit irrespective of who is involved in this case," said the judge, announcing his recusal from the case. The judge adjourned the hearing till September 07 and also extended judicial remand of Rana Sana. The judge had taken the break after ANF prosecutor said he would require an hour or so to prepare his arguments as he had been entrusted the case last night. The defence side had almost completed its arguments before the break.
The counsel for Rana Sana talking to media outside the court room said, "What happened today is unprecedented". "Now the government will decide which judge will hear a case," he said questioning the manner in which the trial judge was stopped from working.
The arguments were almost concluded.
He urged LHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan to take a stern action in this regard.
On his way back to jail, Rana Sana talked to media and said the government wanted the judges of its choice to hear cases against opposition. He said the government had been trying to silence the opposition through false cases. "It is now evident that ANF has nothing to prove against me," he added.
In a letter written to the LHC registrar on August 26, the federal law ministry said services of District & Sessions Judge Masood Arshad had been repatriated. The same letter also repatriated the services of judges of two accountability courts - Mushtaq Elahi and Naeem Arshad - and sought new nominees for the posts.
"I am further directed to request your goodself to forward panel of suitable judicial officers, eligible in all aspects to enable the law and justice division to further process their appointments with competent authority," said the letter.
Judge Naeem Arshad was seized with cases of Ramzan Sugar Mills against Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, his sons Hamza Shahbaz and Suleman Shahbaz. He had also been hearing the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case against PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas.
However, no decision had been taken so far due to unavailability of the chief justice in Lahore for a couple of days.
Previously the law ministry in July had also requested the LHC to withdraw services of CNS Judge Masood Arshad. The ministry had claimed that the judge had some issues regarding his impartiality and integrity. However, the LHC had not taken his services back and he continued to hold the court.