SC judge advises Khosa against pursuing case politically

ISLAMABAD: Expressing displeasure, Supreme Court Judge Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel Wednesday advised the PTI counsel to pursue the bail case in a professional manner rather than dealing it politically.

He headed a three-member bench of the court that granted interim bail before arrest to the PTI MPA Imtiaz Sheikh in a May 9 violence case against surety of Rs200,000.

After granting interim bail to the MPA, Justice Mandokhel directed that the instant matter be clubbed with the other related cases.

He expressed astonishment over the Lahore High Court’s verdict and asked whether the learned high court had dismissed the bail application or decided the trial. The judge observed that such type of evidence could not be discussed in the bail decision.

Barrister Sardar Latif Khosa, counsel for the petitioner, however, submitted that his client’s name was not mentioned in the FIR but named as an accused in the daily diary (Zimini) after several months.

Khosa contended that his client had already got bail in Jinnah House attack case but a new case had been made against him. Justice Musarrat Hilali observed that it’s a big incident and one felt something when on thinking about it. Justice Mandokhel told the counsel that he had not placed on record important documents pertaining to the case.

Justice Mandokhel told Khosa that the litigant’s counsel made mistakes and then blamed the courts. “You took relief from the Supreme Court in minutes,” Justice Mandokhel told Khosa to which he replied that they took a fresh breath of air either from the Peshawar High Court or Supreme Court. Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed observed that God-fearing judges were available everywhere right from the districts court to the Supreme Court.