LHC refers Imran's single-trial petition to division bench
Imran Khan orders to expel absent lawmakers of voting day of 26th constitutional amendment. PHOTO: PIXABAY
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has referred a petition by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan, seeking that only one case arising from the May 9 incidents be tried, to a two-judge bench for further hearing.
The court scheduled the next hearing before a two-member bench led by Justice Shehbaz Rizvi on December 4.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Aaliya Neelum expressed strong displeasure at the presence of an unusually large number of lawyers at the rostrum.
The court directed all lawyers except Latif Khosa to leave the rostrum, but some counsel, notably Intizar Panjotha, later came forward despite the order.
Petitioners urged that multiple FIRs of the same nature should not lead to multiple identical trials, and requested that the court order that only one trial be conducted in relation to the May 9 events.
The hearing was marked by visible irritation from the bench after numerous lawyers crowded the rostrum.
CJ Aaliya Neelum, while addressing the courtroom, remarked that the petition had attracted so many counsel that it had effectively overloaded the rostrum: This petition is so weighty that so many lawyers have come to the rostrum, she observed.
After ordering all counsel except senior lawyer Latif Khosa to step down from the rostrum, the court's directions were not fully heeded.
When counsel Intizar Panjotha returned to the rostrum, the CJ confronted Latif Khosa, asking why other lawyers had come forward to stand alongside him. "It seems you do not wish to follow the court's directions," she said, pressing Khosa for an explanation.
The petition filed on behalf of the PTI founder argues that multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) carrying the same or similar allegations arising out of the May 9 incidents should not result in separate, parallel criminal trials. Counsel urged the LHC to direct consolidation or to permit only a single trial on the common or principal charges.
After hearing the initial arguments and noting the sensitivities involved, the court transferred the matter to the two-judge bench.