Petition under Articles 186-A and 187: IK prays to SC to transfer his cases from IHC to other court

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan levelling serious allegations against the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) prayed to the apex court to restrain the IHC to continue with the trials/proceedings of his cases.

The PTI chief on Wednesday filed a petition under Articles 186-A and 187 of the constitution for the transfer of all cases in which he is a party or is involved in from the IHC to either the Lahore High Court (LHC) or the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

The ex-PM alleged in the petition that he is being held in Attock jail after being “convicted on a cooked up and fabricated charge after a ‘trial’ in gross abuse of due process” for which he primarily blamed IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Aamer Farooq.

IHC to resume hearing of IK’s plea against conviction in Toshakhana case today

“More than sufficient incontrovertible evidence is available to establish the deep and settled bias of the CJ IHC towards the petitioner,” the application read, accusing him of “endeavouring to do everything to keep the petitioner behind bars with the intent that he be unable to contest the forthcoming general elections and thus be ousted from the politics of Pakistan.”

Imran Khan also accused Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar of “despising” him as well as claimed that CJ Farooq had “instrumented” the Sessions Judge “to advance their common objective”.

“In fact, the CJ IHC handsomely rewarded the ASJ after their common project had been achieved through the petitioner’s aforesaid illegal conviction,” he alleged. The petition also hinted at reservations against Judge Dilawar’s verdict in the Toshakhana (gift depository) case, whereby, Imran was sentenced to three years in jail.

However, it primarily highlighted how “the learned CJ IHC has demonstrated his bias and prejudice against the petitioner” across cases. The petitioner also mentioned the delay in the announcement of the court’s verdict in the infidelity case against Imran Khan as well as the CJ IHC’s “deliberate refrain from restraining the bludgeoning” of the petitioner during his arrest by Rangers on court premises.

“He (CJ IHC) enabled the disturbing images to be seen across the country. Later he held that the petitioner’s arrest was lawful and in a lawful manner. The Hon’ble SC [Supreme Court] found otherwise. But there are too many people including the petitioner with the settled belief that the entire episode was acted as per the script of which the CJ IHC was a major protagonist. How can the Petitioner expect any justice from him?”

It submitted that the aforementioned facts show the intense and personal prejudice and hostility of the CJIHC towards the petitioner. “The reasons can be many but it seems that the Hon’ble CJ IHC does not like the noble objects that the Petitioner seeks to pursue. Being in a position capable of determining the fixture of cases and constitution of benches, he is thus in a position to arbitrarily determine the fate of the petitioner. Most of the cases pertaining to the Petitioner have been retained by the learned CJIHC to himself.”

“The one case entrusted by him to a full bench presided over by himself led him into a minority situation to which he has reacted by refusing to bring the same bench together to announce in open Court the majority verdict as the judgment of the Court. Such venom for a party has not been witnessed to the knowledge of the petitioner,” stated Imran Khan.

He requested the Supreme Court to direct that the IHC chief justice recuse himself from hearing the high-profile case (Toshakhana) and transfer it to another court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023