IHC hears Imran 'rectification' plea tomorrow

Former PM has requested IHC to suspend operation of trial court's August 5 order in gifts case

ISLAMABAD:

A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up tomorrow [Monday] PTI chief Imran Khan's petition seeking "rectification" of its August 28 order, through which the court had suspended the sentence awarded to the former prime minister in the gift repository case.

The IHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar, will also hear the objections raised by the court's registrar office to the petition. The petition also seeks to name the state as respondent in the case.

A trial court on August 5 convicted former PM Imran in the Toshakhana case, sentencing him to three years in prison while disqualifying him as a lawmaker for five years. The PTI chief moved the IHC against the trial court's order and a single-member bench of the IHC on August 28 suspended his sentence.

However, as the bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq, did not suspend the operation of the trial court's August 5 order along with the sentence, Imran cannot take part in the upcoming general elections slated for the last week of January.

The petition, which was filed through Advocate Latif Khosa, stated that the IHC issued its August 28 order after hearing lengthy arguments of both parties.  It said the court, however, while suspending the sentence awarded by the trial court, "inadvertently" omitted to suspend the August 5 order.

 "The omission of not recording the contentions of the learned counsel for the petitioner at bar praying for suspension of the impugned order dated August 5 and subsequent non-mentioning of the same in order dated August 28 is an omission floating on the face of the order," it said.

The petition contended that the omission has caused serious prejudice to the right of the applicant as he has been disqualified from contesting elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the basis of the August 5 order.

"Hence the interest of the justice demands that omission...may be rectified by exercising the powers under section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the operation of the [August 5] order may graciously be ordered to be suspended till final decision of the appeal."

The petition also requested the court to be allowed to array the state as party in the case. On Monday, the IHC bench will also hear the objections raised by the court's registrar office on the petition.

The registrar office has raised three objections to the plea. It has asked how two types of relief can be sought in one application; how relief can be sought again in a case that has already been decided and if relief was not sought in the first application, how can it be sought now.