ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) turned down the protective bail plea of Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh to attend the budget session of the provincial assembly.
A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday heard the petition of Adil Sheikh seeking protective bail.
The IHC CJ termed the petition frivolous and dismissed it in limine. The Court not only rejected his petition but also imposed Rs5,000 as fine for filing a frivolous petition and non-disclosure of relief already granted by this court vide order, dated 20.05.2022.
During the hearing, the CJ remarked that the IHC could not interfere in the Sindh High Court (SHC)’s domain and asked Sheikh to approach the respective high court for the bail.
He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader had already been granted a three-week bail by this court and the lawmaker should have used this time period to file a bail plea in the SHC.
The PTI leader informed the court that the government wanted to arrest him in fake cases to stop him from attending the budget session and he invoked the jurisdiction of the court seeking protection against acts on part of the respondents likely to prejudice his right to liberty.
The IHC bench observed in its written order that the petitioner has not placed on record copy of any criminal case that may have been registered against him so as to grant him protective bail. He is rather seeking a blanket order to protect him against arrest in order to enable him to surrender before a court of competent jurisdiction in Sindh.
Justice Minallah noted that the petitioner was earlier granted a protective bail vide order, dated 20.05.2022 and it was valid till 06.06.2022. This crucial fact has not been disclosed by the petitioner in his memorandum of petition.
“Moreover, the Court is bereft of territorial jurisdiction to grant blanket protective bail in favour of the petitioner. Since the Court had already granted protective bail vide order, dated 20.05.2022, which was valid till 06.06.2022, therefore, he had an opportunity to surrender himself before the court of competent jurisdiction or in case his fundamental rights were threatened, then to approach a constitutional court vested with, territorial jurisdiction in the Province of Sindh,” said the IHC chief justice.
He added that the non-disclosure of the petitioner regarding protective bail already granted to him by this Court in his memorandum of petition does not entitle him to equitable relief nor the prayer can be granted for want of territorial jurisdiction.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022