The D&SJ will announce the verdict on May 29 (Wednesday). The court heard the appeals against the sentence of the former premier and the former first lady. Usman Riaz Gul represented the PTI leader and his spouse while Khawar Maneka was represented by a vice counsel of his lawyer Rizwan Abbasi.
The Iddat case was filed on the complaint of Maneka, Bushra's former husband, against the couple in November 2023, alleging that the former PM and first lady had married without observing the Iddat - mandatory waiting period for women in Islam before remarrying.
On February 3, 2024, a trial court sentenced the couple to seven years in prison each for contracting the marriage during Iddat.
At the outset of the hearing, Maneka’s counsel informed the court that he had to advance arguments but the record was not available.
The judge then asked the PTI lawyer to finalise arguments and also directed the vice counsel of Maneka's lawyer to inform his senior Abbasi that he had to present his arguments via video link by 1 pm.
Imran’s lawyer argued that the Iddat case was initiated solely for political motives. He said that malicious intent was evident in the case as Maneka filed the complaint after nearly six-year delay.
He maintained that the jurisdiction of determining the validity of a marriage rested with family court, not the criminal court. Additionally, he added, Bushra’s statement under Section 342 indicated that she underwent divorce in April 2017 and remarried after completion of iddat period.
On his turn, Deputy District Prosecutor Adnan Ali pleaded that the conviction be maintained, arguing that there was no legal provision exempting such cases from criminal prosecution.
The prosecutor further argued that the complainant did not seek annulment of the marriage rather sought punishment for marrying during the iddat period.
He also alleged that Imran Khan’s continuous interference in the life of Maneka and Bushra resulted in their separation.
Earlier, Maneka had submitted application for the transfer of the Iddat case to another court. However, the district and session court in Islamabad rejected the application on April 30. In the plea, he had cited a lack of trust in the presiding judge for seeking the transfer.
He showed his distrust in the judge saying, “The court has a favourable attitude towards PTI, so I request that my case be transferred to another court.” But judge Arjumand rejected the request.
