Federal govt contends high court does not have authority to abolish status of special court
\nISLAMABAD:
\nThe federal government contested the Islamabad High Court\u2019s (IHC) November 21 decision on Friday invalidating Imran Khan\u2019s jail trial in the cypher case.
\nIn its petition, the government has argued that the IHC failed to assess the facts appropriately before declaring the special court designated to hear the cypher trial null and void. It maintained that the high court does not have the authority to abolish the status of a special court.
\nAdvocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi submitted the application on behalf of the federal government.
\nImran Khan, special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, DG FIA, IG, DC, and chief commissioner Islamabad, among others, have been named as respondents in the petition.
\nIHC verdict
\nOn November 22, the IHC declared the proceedings of PTI chairman Imran\u2019s and vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi\u2019s trial conducted in jail in the cypher case so far as null and void.
\nThe court declared that the notification issued by the law ministry on August 29 – which read that the Law and Justice Division had \u201cno objection\u201d to PTI chairman\u2019s trial in the cypher case being held at Attock jail – was without lawful authority and no legal effect \u201cfor want of an order by the appropriate government and fulfilment of requirements provided in Section 352 of the CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure] as well as Rule 3 in Part-A of Chapter-1 in Volume-III of the Rules and Orders of the Lahore High Court\u201d.
\nIn its short order, the court also declared the law ministry\u2019s notifications about Imran\u2019s jail trial issued on September 12, September 25, October 3, and October 13 to be \u201cwithout lawful authority and no legal effect\u201d. It added that the law ministry\u2019s notifications issued on November 13 and November 15 after decisions made by the cabinet were \u201cof no legal consequence\u201d.
\nThe short order read that the November 15 notification could not be given a \u201cretrospective effect\u201d.
\n\u201cConsequently, the proceedings with effect from August 29 and the trial conducted \u2026 in jail premises in a manner that cannot be termed as an open trial stand vitiated,\u201d the order read.
\nAs a result, Imran and his aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi\u2019s October 23 indictments in the case also became null and void. The IHC had then ordered the special court to conduct the trial in open court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal govt contends high court does not have authority to abolish status of special court ISLAMABAD: The federal government contested the Islamabad High Court\u2019s (IHC) November 21 decision on Friday invalidating Imran Khan\u2019s jail trial in the cypher case. In its petition, the government has argued that the IHC failed to assess the facts appropriately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-381829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n