Islamabad:
The Supreme Court rejected the Punjab government on Wednesday about the physical custody of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf founder Imran Khan.
An SC bench with three members led by Justice Hashim Kakar heard the case.
The Punjab Government’s lawyer claimed that the accused physical custody was needed to perform photogrammetric analysis, polygraft tests and voice matching.
Justice Hashim Kakar observed that the appeals were lodged exclusively to the accused physical custody and noted that no test request had been made. He questioned why the Punjab government sought physical custody after a delay of a year and a half, adding that at this point there was no reason to meet such a request.
The special prosecutor said the PTI founder did not cooperate with the investigative team.
Justice Kakar noted what kind of cooperation is required from an accused in prison. The judge suggested that the test could be conducted after seeking permission from a trial.
The special prosecutor said the investigative team went to jail for grilling the PTI founder on July 14, 2024, but the defendant refused to cooperate. He said Facebook, Twitter and Instagram post contains the messages from the PTI founder who threatened to hold protests if Imran Khan was arrested.
Justice Salah Udin Panhwar noted, if these messages are stored in a USB device, get the forensic done. He observed that the police are not performing such tests in a regular murder case and asked why the police are not so active in ordinary murder cases.
Justice Kakar said that if the court makes any observation, it will affect the trial.
Later, the court rejected two appeals filed by the Punjab government for IMRAN’s physical custody.
The court noted that the prosecution can freely move the trial of polygraf, photogrammetrical and voice -matching tests. It also noted that the legal team for the PTI founder could raise legal and actual objections to such an appeal in the trial.
