Lahore (Web Desk): The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday acquitted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi in the ephedrine quota case and overturned the trial court's verdict of lifetime sentence in the case.
On Tuesday, a two-member bench of the LHC led by Justice Aalia Neelum announced the verdict on Abbasi’s appeal against the conviction.
Earlier, the bench reserved its verdict after hearing the concluding arguments of parties.
During the hearings, the bench raised questions about the legality of the case and argued that just the possession of ephedrine does not constitute guilt if it is not misused.
The appeal filed by Abbasi said the conviction was politically motivated, as only one out of eight suspects in the case was convicted.
The case against him and other co-accused was registered by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in 2012 under Sections 9-C, 14 and 15 of the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Act for misuse of 500kg ephedrine.
Abbasi had contested the trial court's decision for his life imprisonment after he was awarded life imprisonment by a special court for control of narcotics substance (CNS) along with Rs1 million fine a few days before the 2018 general elections on July 21.
