In a major development, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial observed that there were prima facie serious defects in the trial court’s judgment in the Toshakhana case against former premier Imran Khan.
According to the details, the remarks came as a three-judge special bench of the Supreme Court (SC) – comprising the CJP, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail – heard Imran Khan’s pleas filed against the trial court’s proceedings of the Toshakhana case.
During the hearing today, the chief justice came down hard on the trial court verdict, saying the judge announced the order in haste. Meanwhile, Justice Naqvi noted that the trial court defied the orders of the apex as well as the high court in passing the Toshakhana judgment.
https://twitter.com/SdqJaan/status/1694262217015955607?s=20
The three-judge bench asked Islamabad High Court (IHC) to consider the former premier’s contentions about the trial court’s jurisdiction, maintainability of the complaint and transfer of judges etc. tomorrow. The bench adjourned the hearing of the case till tomorrow, 2 PM.
Read more: Imran Khan arrested in Toshakhana case, awarded 3 year imprisonment
جب توشہ خانہ کا مقدمہ عمران خان کے اعتراض کے باوجود بار بار ہمایوں دلاور کے پاس بیجھا گیا ہو تاکہ متعصب جج سے عمران خان کو زبردستی کی سزا سنائی جائے تو پھر ایسے فیصلوں کا پوسٹمارٹم برے طریقے سے ہوتا ہے۔
انتہائی اہم ریمارکس سپریم کورٹ کے توشہ خانہ ٹرائل میں بادی النظر میں بہت سی… pic.twitter.com/KmRsTH3Amn— Farrukh Habib (@FarrukhHabibISF) August 23, 2023
سپریم کورٹ نے توشہ خانہ کیس کو بادی النظر میں غلط قرار دے کر عمران خان کے بےگناہی ثابت کر دی۔
عمران خان کی گرفتاری بھی غلط، سزا بھی غلط اور ناحق ظلم بھی غلط
اب ہمارے جعلی دانشوروں کے تجزیوں کی بتی بنا کر جہاز اڑا لیں جو "عمران خان ختم شد، ختم شد" کے بےسرے راگ الاپ رہے تھے۔
😂🤣— Maleeha Hashmey (@MaleehaHashmey) August 23, 2023
A trial court in Islamabad had found the PTI chief guilty of “corrupt practices” in a case pertaining to concealing details of state gifts and sentenced him to three years in prison. The verdict also means that he stood disqualified from contesting general elections for five years.
Subsequently, Imran Khan approached the IHC against his conviction and sentence. The IHC annulled the sessions court’s verdict on the maintainability of the Toshakhana case against the PTI chief as a temporary relief to him but rejected his request to transfer the case to another court.
Read more: Sessions court reserves verdict in Toshakhana case
Later, Imran Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Haris filed an application in the SC against the IHC’s decision. In his appeal, the PTI chairman requested the SC to overturn the high court’s order directing Khan to reappear in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar.