SC accepts Imran’s bail pleas in eight May 9 cases
Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday accepted the bail pleas of former prime minister Imran Khan in eight cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
A three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and comprising Justices Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Hasan Azhar Rizvi resumed hearing the petitions on Thursday.
Barrister Salman Safdar appeared on behalf of the PTI founder, while Punjab Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi represented the state. Both concluded their arguments, following which the CJP announced the bench’s decision.
However, Imran has multiple other cases against him. Imprisoned since August 2023 in a case related to state gifts, the PTI founder is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in the £190 million graft case and faces pending trials related to the May 9 riots.
At the outset of the hearing, the Punjab prosecutor informed the court that he could not appear on Wednesday due to illness.
CJP Afridi, noting he had two questions from Naqvi, asked, “You must have read the Lahore High Court’s verdict. Can a final observation be made in a case of bail?”
During the hearing on August 12, the chief justice had raised questions over some observations made by the LHC, noting that the SC would not touch upon the legal findings so as not to affect any party’s case.
Asking his second question, the CJP said, “This same court (LHC) gave bail to a suspect on the charge of conspiracy. Will the principle of precedence not apply to this case?”
The prosecutor responded that a court’s observation in a bail case was always of an “interim nature”. “A court observation does not have any impact on the trial,” he contended.
When the hearing resumed after a brief break, the prosecutor requested that the court allow him to assist on the merits of the case.
However, CJP Afridi observed, “We will not allow anyone to argue on the merits of the case. You may only answer the legal questions pertaining to the conspiracy [charge].
“Show me a case where the Supreme Court has denied bail on conspiracy charges.”
He further said, “The Supreme Court has granted bail in two cases of similar allegations. Prove that your case is different from other cases.
CJP Afridi directed Naqvi to inform him about the details of the decision regarding the bail rejection and then read out the decisions in the court.
Following a brief break, Naqvi read out the bail approval decision in the Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry case.
“You talk about conspiracy in the case. Is there any case in which there was a conspiracy and bail was rejected?” he questioned the prosecutor.
“Bail was granted in all the conspiracy cases that came up in the SC recently. The SC has granted bail in three cases of similar allegations,” he said, urging him to prove how the case was different from other conspiracy cases.
“There will be no evidence in conspiracy cases where bail was granted in the SC,” according to Naqvi. He argued that there was evidence of conspiracy on social media in the current case.
“You will not talk on merit at the stage of bail,” CJP Afridi remarked.
The court approved eight bail applications of PTI founder following Naqvi and Safdar’s arguments.
