SC rejects PTI chief’s plea seeking stay on trial court proceedings in Toshakhana case

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday rejected PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s plea seeking to stay a trial court proceedings in the Toshakhana case.

On Oct 21 last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had disqualified Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution for making “false statements and incorrect declaration”.

In May, Islamabad Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Hamayun Dilawar had rejected Imran Khan’s challenge to the maintainability of the Toshakhana reference and indicted him in the case.

The trial court’s decision was challenged before the IHC, which remanded the case back to the former on July 4 to re-examine the matter in seven days in the light of legal questions to decide maintainability of the reference.

Subsequently, Imran had moved the SC and urged the apex court to set aside the IHC directive. He also sought a stay on the proceedings before ADSJ Dilawar until his appeal was decided. The PTI chief had moved his appeal through senior counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmad.

On Wednesday, a two-member bench, comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Musarrat Hilali, took up Imran’s plea.

Just before the hearing began, there were disturbances outside the courtroom, leading the judges to express their displeasure. They asked Imran’s counsel Khawaja Haris to resolve the matter outside the courtroom.

Emphasising the importance of respecting the court, they said everyone should adhere to it. The courtroom staff briefly left due to the noises, but returned once the situation was resolved.

At the outset of the hearing, Haris stated that two petitions were already pending with the IHC, one concerning the trial court’s jurisdiction and the other seeking transfer of his trial from the court of ADSJ Dilawar.

ECP lawyer Amjad Pervez stated that the implementation of the IHC decision had already been made, and a hearing for a petition against the trial court order was scheduled for tomorrow.

Justice Afridi pointed out that since the two pleas were currently with the IHC, issuing directives to the trial court would not be appropriate. The court expressed hope that the IHC would hear all identical petitions filed by the PTI chief alongside this case.

It rejected the PTI counsel’s request to halt criminal proceedings in the case and referred the case back to the IHC. The top court also asked the PTI chief to approach the IHC regarding the matter and disposed of the petition.

The plea

The petition, brought by the PTI chief before the apex court earlier this month, argued that the IHC was not legally justified in remanding the same questions of law that formed the basis of the impugned order for re-determination by the same trial judge who had already given his judgement.

Moreover, Imran added, the IHC set aside the petitioner’s plea by remanding the matter back to the trial court for re-decision despite the fact that the petitioner had also applied for transfer of the complaint from the trial judge to any other court.

The petitioner contended the IHC had committed a jurisdiction error in remanding the case to the same trial judge against whom an application had been filed for transfer of the case.