IHC declares Imran Khan’s jail trial in cipher case illegal
ISLAMABAD: (Suno News) While upholding the appointment of the judge of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) court, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday declared the intra-court appeal of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan admissible and his jail trial in the cipher case illegal.
A two-member IHC bench comprising Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz pronounced the reserved verdict, annulling the August 29 notification for Imran Khan’s jail trial.
Earlier in the day, the IHC reserved the verdict on the intra-court appeal of Imran Khan against his jail trial in the cipher case.
A two-member IHC bench comprising Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the appeals of the PTI chairman against his jail trial and the appointment of a special Official Secrets Act (OSA) court judge in the cipher case.
Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecution team appeared in the court.
PTI chairman’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja argued, “According to the high court rules, the will of the judge is mandatory for a jail trial. The judge is required to inform the ministry concerned through the high court and district magistrate or commissioner office.”
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb asked Imran Khan’s lawyer, “What should the judge do first for a jail trial?” to which lawyer Salman Akram Raja said, “The judge concerned has to clear his mind and explain the reasons.”
He added, “A jail trial has to follow the process as per the high court rules. The August 29 documents did not say anything about why the jail trial was being conducted.”
Lawyer Salman Akram Raja told the court, “Even if it is accepted that the process was initiated by the trial judge, the further procedure was not completed.”
He added, “The federal cabinet has to approve the prison trial. In this case, there is no approval of the federal cabinet before November 12.”
Earlier on Monday, the IHC extended the stay order against the trial of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in the cipher case till Tuesday (today).
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Gul Hassan of the IHC, heard the intra-court appeal against the jail trial of the PTI chairman in the cipher case. Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz was also part of the bench.
Salman Akram Raja, lawyer for the PTI chairman, argued before the court that the matter of appointing a judge was very important, adding that he would place some facts before the court.
The court said that according to the documents produced by the attorney general, the process of appointing a judge started from the high court.
