‘Move Sobhraj case to lower court’

Kathmandu, Sept. 4: Nep-al’s Supreme Court has been advised to send notorious criminal Charles Sobhraj’s fake passport case back to a district court, with lawyers saying that evidences were not properly examined by the lower court. "The lower courts did not properly examine the evidences in a case relating to fake passport possession (in which Sobhraj was acquitted) though the evidences were also related to the murder case in which he was convicted," deputy government attorney Brajesh Pyakurel said.

A division bench comprising Justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kalyan Shrestha has been examining the case for a couple of months.

Sobhraj was also brought to the court amid tight security.

The Kathmandu district court did not properly check the evidence while issuing a clean chit to Sobhraj for possessing fake passport, Mr Pyakurel claimed.

There are three cases relating to Sobhraj which are pending in the Supreme Court.

Two cases are related to the use of fake passport by Sobhraj and one with the murder of an American tourist in 1975. Sobhraj, has claimed innocence, saying that the police has accused him by producing fake documents. —PTI

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Sharif trial on hold till Oct. 7

Islamabad, Sept. 4: A Pakistani court on Thursday adjourned till October 7 the hearing of an application seeking reopening of the trial of corruption cases against former Premier Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz and other members of their family.

A judge of a special court in Rawalpindi, which took up the application for reopening the cases adjourned the matter till October 7 and said he will not proceed with the matter as many judges of anti-corruption courts are currently on leave.

A move by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to reopen trial of the eight-year old cases had sparked a war of words between the ruling PPP and its former ally PML-N.

The NAB operates under the law ministry.

—PTI