PTI's contempt of court plea assigned to wrong bench

In an unusual turn of events, Islamabad High Court single-bench judge Inam Ameen Minhas on Thursday refused to hear a contempt of court case against the Adiala Jail administration, saying that the matter had been wrongly fixed before his bench.

At the outset of the hearing, Justice Mihas noted that the case pertained to the alleged contempt of a ruling issued by a larger bench, and therefore could not be heard by a single judge. He emphasized that such matters should be taken up by the same larger bench that had passed the original order.

Advocate Shoaib Shaheen read out the larger bench's March 23 verdict. In response, Justice Minhas questioned whether it was appropriate for a single bench to hear the case when the larger bench had issued the relevant directive. He then ordered a report from the Registrar Office, seeking clarification on how the case had been listed before him.

Salman Akram Raja Advocate argued before the court that a single bench is also competent to hear the contempt case. He informed the court that when PTI leaders and family members attempted to meet the PTI founder at Adiala Jail, they were confronted by police officers brandishing guns.

He further submitted that regular meetings with Imran Khan had taken place from 2023 to 2025, but access had been denied since March 20.

The court took a short break and sought a report from the Registrar Office regarding the listing of the case. After the hearing resumed, Justice Minhas said that the case had been mistakenly fixed before him. The Registrar Office had informed that the case was meant for the larger bench and it was supposed to be listed there.