LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday reserved verdict on a petition filed by former head of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Ahad Cheema against his arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing scam.

Earlier, Cheema`s counsel Azam Nazir Tarar and the bureau`s prosecutor concluded their arguments before a division bench comprising Justice Ali Bagar Najafi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh.

The petitioner`s counsel contended that the NAB violated its own laws by arresting Cheema without any justification. He saidCheema had extended full cooperation to the investigating team and also furnished before it all information required in the summons.

He pointed out that the petitioner stood transferred from the post of LDA director general on April 28, 2016 and all the record whatsoever pertaining to the said housing project was never in his personal possession rather lay with the authority. He asked the courttosetaside the arrestofthe petitioner and order the NAB to release him.

On other side, NAB prosecutor Rana Arif objected to the maintainability of the petition and said the petitioner was on physical remand. He asked the court to dismiss the petition for being not maintainable as arrest could not be challenged dur-ing physical remand.

Moreover, he said all legal requirements had been fulElled before the arrest of the petitioner. He said the petitioner was summoned more than once but he failed to appear before the investigation team. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the benchreservedits decision.

Meanwhile, the same bench announced a reserved verdict and dismissed a petition moved by a co-suspect of Cheema against the several provisions of the NAB ordinance.

Petitioner Shahid Shafiq Faridi of Bismillah Engineering had contended through his counsel that the provisions of the ordinance empowering the NAB to make arrests on mere allegations had been repealed. He said the NAB acted beyond itsjurisdiction by arresting the petitioner.

CM PICTURES: The Lahore High Court reserved on Tuesday verdict on the maintainability of a petition against printing of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif`s photo on Speedo buses plying in the city to facilitate passengers of Metro Bus.

Syed Azhar Abbas filed the petition and contended thatthe politicalrulershad been using the public money for their personal projection.

He said the act of printing pictures of the chief minister on the Speedo buses amounted to carry out personal promotion at the taxpayer`s money, which could not be allowed under any law.

Justice Shahid Karim reserved verdict on maintainability of the petition.