IHC doesn’t stay gift case proceedings, again

PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday could not get relief from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as the court, despite repeated requests, did not stay proceedings of a trial court that has asked Imran to appear before it on July 31 to give his testimony in the gift repository case.

A single-bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, however, clubbed three petitions filed by the PTI chief as he ordered the IHC registrar office to list the cases next week.

When the court resumed hearing the petitions on Thursday, Imran’s counsel Khawaja Haris informed the court about the Supreme Court’s July 26 order.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined Imran’s request to stay the gift repository—Toshakhana—case proceedings but urged the IHC to decide some pending petitions of the PTI chairman.

In one of the petitions, Imran challenged a trial court’s July 8 order, declaring as maintainable the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) complaint seeking criminal proceedings against him for not disclosing the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his term as the PM in his statement of assets.

He also filed a petition requesting the court to stay the trial court’s proceedings. The PTI chief also raised objections to the trial court judge, who, he claims, had made some comments against Imran on Facebook.  The PTI chief and his wife also moved the IHC for transfer of some cases from one trial court to another.

The IHC chief justice, however, noted that he had not received the SC’s written order till then and briefly adjourned the court.

When the court resumed hearing, Imran’s counsel read out the SC order and submitted that the apex court had directed the IHC to hear three of the petitions. Haris said it is a trite law that the question of jurisdiction is decided first—before starting proceedings of a case.

He said this was the second round of litigation on the subject of limitation and authority of persons filing complaints on behalf of the ECP.

He said the IHC vide order dated July 4 referred the matter back to the trial court for deciding Imran Khan’s petition against maintainability of the ECP’s complaint afresh.

The trial court, however, dismissed the petition of the petitioner vide order dated July 8, which is the subject matter of the instant criminal revision, he added.

He requested the court to stay the trial court’s proceedings contending that in case of a delay, the trial court might issue an order which will render these petitions useless.

The court, however, ordered its office to club three petitions and list them next week.

With regard to the PTI chief's petition raising objection to the trial court judge based on his alleged social media posts, the IHC directed its office to remit the issue of the authenticity of the posts to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing.

The FIA must submit a report on the social media post positively before the next date of hearing, it said.
It also disposed of Imran and his wife’s petition to transfer cases from the court of Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra—additional district & sessions judge, Islamabad (West)--to another court in view of the judge's alleged partiality.

It noted that no plausible ground exists for transfer of case of the petitioners from the court of Judge Sipra. It said it is a trite principle that justice should not only be done but seems to be done.

“Therefore, the learned court, seized of the matter, ought to be careful in deciding the issue and be unfazed by the remarks made by it earlier and the matter should purely be decided on the basis of the record collected by the investigating officer so far,” the IHC chief justice wrote.

Meanwhile, the trial court hearing the gift repository case accepted Imran’s requests for one-day exemption from appearance as well as adjourning the case till July 31.