IHC bound to examine case material first, says SC

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court said on Tuesday that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was bound to first see and check the veracity of fact and thereafter to proceed with the matter in the audio leaks case.

The bench, comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, issued a 5-page written order of the hearing of a government appeal on Monday. The order said that notices had been issued to the parties who could submit additional documents if they wished.

The order said that, on May 19, 2023, the federal government had established a three-member inquiry commission under the chairmanship of Justice Qazi Faiz Isa which had also included Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Amir Farooq as its members.

However, the Supreme Court had stopped the inquiry commission from working and it has not met since. In its appeal, the federal government contended that the IHC had exercised its jurisdiction of suo motu notice.

The order further stated that, in a writ petition filed in the IHC, Bushra Bibi had said that the audio was fabricated. It added that even the IHC had not bothered to appreciate the stance of Bushra Imran Khan that she had pleaded with regard to the audio leaks.

"The IHC was bound to first see and check the veracity of this fact and thereafter to proceed with the matter," the order stated. It added that the high court was stopped from proceeding until further orders.