ISLAMABAD, Jul 04 (NNI): On Tuesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) invalidated the ruling of an additional sessions court, dismissing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea to declare the Toshakhana case as “inadmissible”.
The verdict on the PTI chief’s petition — reserved on June 23 — was pronounced by IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq.
The judge, in short order, sent the matter back to the trial court, ordering that the PTI’s counsel arguments be heard again and reconsidered.
Furthermore, the judge said: “The trial court should decide on the PTI chairman’s plea in the Toshakhana case in seven days.”
Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar on May 10 rejected objections about the admissibility of the case and indicted Khan in the Toshakhana case.
The PTI chief then approached the IHC.
Following the petition, Justice Aamer stayed criminal proceedings on the case till June 8.
Subsequently, he resumed the hearing later in June and, on June 23, reserved his verdict on the petition, saying that he would look into the matter after Eid ul Adha.
In his petition, the PTI chair objected to filing a complaint after a specified period.
His lawyer, Khawaja Haris, maintained that a complaint could only be filed within four months of submitting the return.
In a written order issued by the court, the judge wrote that the trial court’s decision had left important legal issues unresolved.
It would be appropriate for the trial court to decide on the application after hearing the arguments again, the judge added in his order.
The order further maintained that it was evident from the parties’ arguments that the court gave its decision without going into details.
It is important to know the answers to 8 different questions, including the jurisdiction of the case, the IHC top judge wrote, adding that
the petition was rejected with little reasoning, and important legal questions and issues were left unresolved.
However, a day earlier, the PTI chief submitted a petition to the court, seeking Justice Aamer’s recusal from the case.
In the petition, the former prime minister — who was removed from power via a no-confidence motion in April last year — sought the transfer of the two Toshakhana cases to another bench in the interest of a “fair and impartial” trial.
The petition has also named the district election commission as the respondent.
During a talk with media personnel outside the IHC, the PTI chief’s lawyer, Gohar Khan, termed the verdict a “victory”.
“An appeal was filed against the decision of the session judge in the Toshakhana case,” he said, adding that the wrong person filed the complaint.
“We were trying in courts for a year. Today, PTI has won,” he said. NNI
