LAHORE: A Lahore High Court larger bench on Tuesday sought arguments on the maintainability of petitions against the formation of a new Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by the Punjab government to hold a fresh probe into the Model Town incident.

Earlier, Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar, a counsel for one of the petitioners, continued his arguments against the mala fide intention of the government and procedural flaws on its part in issuing the notification of the JIT. He reiterated that the government committed a fraud with the court by submitting contradictory statements about the constitution of the JIT.

He urged the bench to initiate criminal action against Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and other government officials for deceiving the court.

Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, who headed the bench,asked the counsel what would be his argument if the government issued a new notification of the new investigation team.

Tarar said there would be legal hurdles in the way of the government to permit reinvestigation. He said the Supreme Court had ruled in 1986 that the reinvestigation was a tool to distort the investigation. A seven-member bench of the SC in 2018 dismissed a petition seeking reinvestigation as the trial in a private complaint filed by the complainant herself was in progress.

Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, a member of the bench, asked the counsel to first convince the court on the point of maintainability. He observed that all the questions relating to the jurisdiction of the government and procedural shortcomings were subsequent.

The bench adjourned further hearing dllOct8 on the requestof the counsel.

Earlier, the petitioners` counselfiled written replies to two civil miscellaneous applications moved by the government.

Justice Aalia Neelum, Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh are the other members of the bench.

Khurram Rafiq and several other police officials facing trial in the private complaint by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek had challenged the new JIT formed by the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf-led provincial government. A three-judge bench had on March 22, 2019 suspended the new JIT.

DIRECTIVE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday directed the vice chancellor of the Rahbar Medical and Dental College to decide within three days the issue of a female student who was barred from taking fourth year classes after she failed in one paper of Part-III of the MBBS.

The student, Rabia Arif, throughher counsel Rabbiya Bajwa, contended that the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) had not framed uniformed rules for all medical colleges.

The petitioner said she was not allowed to attend Part-IV classes because she did not pass a paper in Part III. She said she had the opportunity to sit the examinations under the rules but disallowing her from attending the classes would waste her academic year.

The petitioner asked the court to order the respondents to allow her to sit the medical Part-IV classes.

Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi disposed of the petition and directed the college VC to decide the matter within three days.

R EMAND: A judicial magistrate remanded two officials of the health department in police custody for two days in a case of fake entry of the Covid-19 vaccine against the identity card of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.