KARACHI: A court in Karachi on Tuesday acquitted Sindh Senior Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon and five other accused in an eight-year-old case concerning the alleged recovery of liquor bottles from his hospital room.
The Judicial Magistrate South announced the verdict, acquitting all six accused for lack of evidence.
The other accused include Memon’s servants and prison officials. The court ruled that the police and prosecution had failed to establish the charges against them and presented no concrete evidence to prove their involvement in the alleged offence.
During the proceedings, Memon’s counsel argued that forensic and medical reports had established that the bottles recovered from the room contained honey and olive oil, rather than liquor.
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The defence maintained that the allegations were unfounded and that the forensic findings did not support the police claim of liquor recovery.
Background
The case dates back to September 1, 2018, when then Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar made a surprise visit to the hospital in Shirin Jinnah Colony in Karachi, where Memon was receiving treatment while in judicial custody.
Memon’s hospital room had been declared a sub-jail. During the visit, the then chief justice claimed that three bottles of liquor had been found in the room.
Following the incident, Memon was shifted to Karachi Central Jail, and Boat Basin police registered a case against him and his three employees under Section 4 of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979, relating to the possession of intoxicants.
Two people were subsequently taken into custody in connection with the alleged recovery. One of them reportedly claimed that the bottles contained honey and cooking oil rather than liquor.
The case remained pending for eight years before the court acquitted all the accused, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges.