The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on an intra-court appeal filed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan against a single-member bench\u2019s decision that had approved the ex-premier\u2019s jail trial in the cipher case. An IHC division bench, comprising Justice Mian\u00adgul Hassan Aur\u00adangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, is expected to announce the decision at 5:30pm. As the proceedings resumed today, Imran\u2019s lawyer Advocate Salman Akram Raja started presenting his arguments. Citing the high court rules, he said a judge\u2019s permission was mandatory for a jail trial. \u201cThe judge then informs relevant ministry via the high court or district magistrate or commissioner\u2019s office,\u201d he argued. Here, Justice Aurangzeb inquired what the judge should do foremost for a jail trial. In his response, Raja said the judge had to list reasons for the same with a \u201cclear mind\u201d. However, the lawyer continued, the reasons for Imran\u2019s jail trial were not conveyed in the Aug 29 documents. It must be noted that on the said date, the IHC had suspended the PTI chief\u2019s sentence in the Toshakhana case, but a special court established under the Official Secrets Act had directed jail authorities to keep Imran in \u201cjudicial lockup\u201d in the cipher case. \u201cEven if we accept that the trial was initiated by a judge, the process that followed was incomplete,\u201d Raja argued. Raja highlighted that the federal cabinet is empowered to approve jail trials but in this scenario, no such decision was taken until Nov 12. \u201cThe federal cabinet\u2019s approval only came when the intra-court appeal was under way,\u201d he revealed. Raja contended that a judicial order pertaining to the same had also not been issued yet. \u201cThe judicial order of a jail trial gives us the chance to present our stance,\u201d the lawyer added and urged the court to declare the jail trial unlawful. Meanwhile, Justice Aurangzeb asked if the government\u2019s Nov 12 decision was taken to fulfil legal requirements. \u201cHow can the cabinet approve something that was never sought,\u201d the PTI counsel responded. He said the special court judge never mentioned the previous proceedings in the case. Whereas, in the notification issued by the government, nothing similar to what the judge said was written, Raja added. \u201cAs per Article 352, the Nov 12 notification is not applicable to the previous hearings,\u201d he contended. At that, Justice Aurangzeb asked if the lawyer was saying that the government\u2019s order on jail trial was issued merely to fulfil legal obligations. No, Raja replied, adding that the cabinet\u2019s approval came without a judicial order. The judge then said that the IHC registrar had informed the court that the process of appointing the judge was initiated by the Islamabad High Court. \u201cWe were also told that the special court judge informed the IHC before commencing the jail trial,\u201d Justice Aurangzeb revealed. Raja, while concluding his arguments, then contended that all the notifications pertaining to the jail trial were illegal. \u201cIf you want to conduct a jail trial, you will have to adopt a legal procedure and provide solid reasons for it,\u201d he added. Subsequently, Attorney-General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan came to the rostrum. He said a jail trial wasn\u2019t for ordinary people to attend but at the same time highlighted that Imran\u2019s family members were allowed to attend the proceedings. He recalled that Imran was in prison at the time of arrest and therefore a physical remand was not taken. \u201cIf the things that exist in the law are not taking place, then you say that justice is not being served,\u201d the AGP said and highlighted that charges were framed against the accused in front of him as per the law. The hearing is held at a big hall in Adiala Jail, Awan further said, adding that the jail trial against Imran was being conducted due to security reasons. After the AGP concluded his arguments, the bench reserved the verdict with Justice Aurangzeb saying that the court would first issue a short order and then a detailed one at a later time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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