IHC nixes notification for Imran’s jail trial

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday nullified the law ministry’s August 29 notification for conducting the jail trial of PTI Chairman Imran Khan on the charge of leaking state secrets.

A special court has been conducting Imran’s trial in jail citing security concerns. He was sent to the Adiala Jail after being indicted by the special court on October 23.

“The Islamabad High Court has declared illegal the notification for jail trial,” said Naeem Panjotha, a lawyer, in a post on X.

The ruling came as a division bench — comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz — announced the verdict it reserved earlier in the day on the intra-court appeal filed by the PTI chief against his jail trial.

It seems after the order, the court proceedings that have taken place in jail have been nullified as a whole.

Allowing Khan’s intra-court appeal, the division bench declared the law ministry’s notification “to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect”.

The High Court stated in the three-page short order that the jail trial could only be conducted in “exceptional circumstances”.

“In exceptional circumstances and where it is conducive to justice, a trial can be conducted in jail in a manner that fulfills the requirements of an open trial or a trial in camera provided it is in accordance with the procedure provided by law,” said the order.

The court also declared that the November 15 notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice after the caretaker cabinet’s approval of the jail trial “cannot be given retrospective effect”.

Later, the Special Court Tuesday adjourned the hearing in the cipher case in compliance with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directives.

The case against the PTI chief Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was registered under the Official Secrets Act.

Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the high-profile case.

The court adjourned the hearing when it was informed that the Islamabad High Court had extended the stay it had granted in the jail trial of the cipher case until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday ordered Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s lawyers to present their arguments in the Avenfield reference on November 27.

The court orders came during the hearing of appeals filed by the PMLN supremo against his conviction in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption references. A two-member division bench, headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, heard the appeals.

At the outset of the hearing, Azam Naseer Tarar, who is one of the lawyers of Nawaz Sharif, informed the court that they had developed a sequence for the hearing. He added that they planned to give arguments for the appeal filed against the Avenfield reference. IHC CJ Farooq asked the counsel how much time they would require and the hours he would take to give his arguments.

Amjad Pervez, who is also a part of Nawaz’s legal team, told the court that a decision on the Avenfield reference had been made on merit. While Tarar added that the decision pertaining to the acquittal of co-accused was final, as it was not challenged in the Supreme Court.

The IHC CJ remarked that all that happened in the Al-Azizia appeal was the suspension of sentence. He added arguments on merit were never heard in the case. Further, the judge asked Pervez about how many hours, and not days, would be required for arguments.

The lawyer said he needed four to six hours. “In the Al-Azizia reference, the appeal was not heard by both members of the bench,” Justice Farooq said. He told the lawyer to forget about the Al-Azizia case for now and only present arguments in the Avenfield case.

The judge remarked that the court had questioned the NAB during several hearings. The PML-N lawyer said the NAB had failed to provide any evidence. “At that time, NAB had also changed lawyers.”

He remarked that hearing of the appeal, if necessary, will be conducted on a daily basis. Justice Farooq asked how much time would the NAB need to present its arguments. “We only need half an hour, just to put forward legal points,” the NAB prosecutor said.

The IHC chief justice said the court would give one-or-two hour time to the anti-graft body for presenting arguments. The judge then adjourned the hearing until next Monday — November 27, and asked Nawaz’s lawyers to give arguments when the court meets again.