Indictment in cypher case: IK moves IHC, challenging special court’s order

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Wednesday, moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the special court’s order to indict him in the cypher case.

Imran moved the court through his counsel Sher Afzal Marwat and cited the state, judge special court, and Secretary Interior Yousaf Naseem Khokhar as respondents.

In the petition, Marwat stated that the petitioner was aggrieved of the proceedings and order passed by respondent No 02 on 9th of October, 2023 as on that date “the proceedings were held in an unusual and inappropriate manner” and the impugned order was passed, holding inter-alia, that the proceeding for the supply of copies cannot be postponed for the reason of pendency of writ petition No 2656/2023 in the High Court.

He added that the trial court had held in the impugned order that the court provided copies to the accused petitioner and co-accused Shah Mahmood Qureshi and has further held that he directed the accused to sign the margin of order sheet but the counsel for the petitioner refused to allow his client to sign the margin of the order sheet as they refused to receive copies.

He further said, “Though no copies were supplied on 9-10-2023, yet in the impugned order it has been observed that the copies were supplied, which is not a true reflection of the proceedings.”

“It is an admitted fact that no copies were supplied to the petitioner as both the accused refused and despite mentioning of this fact, it is reflected in the order and the impugned order that the copies were supplied and therefore the impugned order is not in consonance with the true reflection of the proceedings held on the said date,” maintained the counsel.

He continued, “That the order sheet is silent about certain classified material which the prosecution/state would be relying during the trial but the copies of the same had not been furnished along with the Challan.

Likewise, there was no list of the documents available with the trial court nor the same was provided for perusal so which omission would deprive the petitioner of his right to know about the likely evidence that may be produced against him during the trial.”

He also said that as the order in the writ petition challenging the trial in-camera or in the Adalia jail is about to be pronounced by the high court, it was required under the judicial propriety to have abstained from proceeding further into the matter until the high court would have settled the issue in its constitutional jurisdiction.

The petitioner contended, “That likewise, it is beyond comprehension as to how could the trial court proceed with the jail trial of Mr Shah Mehmood Qureshi where there is no direction by any government with respect to holding of his trial in jail.

In this view of the matter, the rights available to co-accused Shah Mehmood Qureshi cannot be sacrificed on account of a different status of the petitioner about whom certain illegal orders were passed by the Ministry of Law and Justice on the request of the learned trial judge.”

Therefore, he prayed to the court that on acceptance of this criminal revision, the impugned order dated 09-10-2023 may graciously be set aside, in the interest of justice.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023