IHC Suspends Session Court's Orders To Hear Toshakhana Case

IHC Suspends Session Court's Orders To Hear Toshakhana Case
The maintainability ruling in the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan issued by the session court was declared "void" by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday.

"The session court should hear and decide again," the IHC opined.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan requested that the case be transferred to a different court, but that motion was also denied by the court.

Additionally, it published a notification regarding the appeal of the decision to reject the witness list.

The ruling said that Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Additional Sessions will hear the case.

The court ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to look into the district and session judge's Facebook post.

The district and sessions court in the federal capital started hearing the Toshakhana case after the IHC decision, and Judge Humayun Dilawar questioned Imran Khan's lawyer, Barrister Gohar Ali, about any developments in the high court case.

Meanwhile, Khan's lawyer submitted a request for an exemption so that his client could skip the hearing.

The Supreme Court had earlier in the day dismissed all pleas related to the Toshakhana gifts case against former premier Imran Khan on Friday.

During the hearing, which was presided over by a three-member bench led by Justice Yahya Afridi, the representative of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and PTI lawyer Khawaja Haris presented their arguments before the court.

During the proceedings, the apex court asked about the status of a high court stay order. PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s lawyer, Khawaja Haris, informed the court that no decision had yet been made and that the matter was still open.

All petitions pertaining to the Toshakhana case were subsequently dismissed by the Supreme Court as a result of PTI Chairman Imran Khan withdrawing his appeal.

The Supreme Court stated in its remarks that the trial court and the high court should both maintain the spirit of the law throughout the process.

The court noted that the high court’s decision on the request to transfer the case to another court is still pending.

The Supreme Court had earlier appointed a new three-member court to hear the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan.

Justice Yahya Afridi presided over the newly constituted bench, which also included Justices Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Mussarat Hilali.

Notably, Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi has been replaced on the bench by Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.

It was stated during the prior hearing that a bench would be available for the next hearing.