notes that the Supreme Court generally does not interfere itself with interim orders passed by HCs
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Federation and other respondents on a petition for stay of sentences awarded to Advocate Imaan Mazari and Barrister Hadi Ali Chattha, while noting that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) should hear and decide their pending application for stay of sentence.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justice Mussarat Hilali and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan heard the case.
During the hearing, counsel for Imaan Mazari, Faisal Siddiqi, submitted that the SC had earlier asked the IHC to decide on the stay of sentence application within two weeks, but the order had not been complied with.
He said the IHC had initially fixed the case for May 20 and later postponed it to June 4. But the case list for June 4 was canceled and the case had not been fixed for hearing since then.
The lawyer further stated that an application for an early hearing had also been filed with the IHC but was returned without being entertained.
“Our only request is that the high court settle the case and decide it, even if the decision goes against us. The case should at least be heard,” Siddiqi argued before the court.
Justice Mazhar observed that the SC generally does not interfere itself in interim orders passed by the High Courts, whereas in the present case the IHC had not even issued notices to the prosecution yet.
After accepting the request of the petitioners’ counsel, the apex court issued notices to the Additional Attorney General and other respondents and adjourned the hearing to July 21.
The petition seeks suspension of the sentences awarded to Imaan Mazari and lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha while their appeal is still pending before the IHC.
Earlier, on May 12, a three-member SC bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed directed the IHC to decide the applications “preferably within two weeks” while hearing petitions filed by the couple. However, the case is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Despite the SC directions, the IHC is yet to decide on the applications. The case is now before a differently composed SC bench.
It remains unclear whether the case was assigned to the new court by the three-man committee set up under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act.
The IHC last heard the case on June 1, with the prosecution seeking time to prepare its arguments. The hearing was adjourned until 4 June. However, the case list for June 4 was canceled on June 2, and the case has not been resumed since then.
Subsequently, Faisal Siddiqi, counsel for Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, approached the SC for early hearing of the matter.
Legal observers say the court may take one of three courses: refer the case back to the IHC with directions for its early disposal, withdraw the apex court’s May 12 order or itself decide on the application for stay of sentence.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) also challenged the SC’s earlier order directing the IHC to decide the couple’s suspension applications within a specified time frame.
