ISLAMABAD: Justice Azam Khan has decided to step away from the case involving appeals against the acquittal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the ‘iddat’ case. The appeals were filed by Khawar Maneka.
On Monday, Justice Azam Khan, who had previously heard the case, presided over the hearing of Maneka’s appeals against the acquittal of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.
PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Shoaib Shaheen, appeared in court and requested that the case be transferred to another court.
Shoaib Shaheen argued that since Justice Azam Khan had previously deemed the case admissible, it should now be moved to a different bench. He stated, “You have already heard the ‘iddat’ case,” to which Justice Azam Khan replied, “Yes, I had previously declared the case admissible.”
Shoaib Shaheen further said, “You have already disclosed your mind on the matter, so the case should be transferred to another bench.”
Justice Azam Khan responded, “We heard a review petition against an order. We will send the file to the Chief Justice to form a new bench.”
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The court has sent the file of the appeal against the acquittal to Chief Justice Aamer Farooq for the formation of a new bench.
Khawar Maneka filed an appeal challenging the decision of the Additional Sessions Judge dated July 13, 2024, which acquitted Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the case. The petitioner has requested the court to overturn the acquittal order, terming it unlawful.
In his appeal, Khawar Maneka stated that the Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) acquitted Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi while ignoring key aspects of the Iddat case.
Previously, the Additional Sessions Judge had acquitted the two, but Khawar Maneka, Bushra Bibi’s former husband, later moved the High Court against the verdict.
It is worth noting that the case was initially decided by Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah, who sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison. However, the District and Sessions Court later overturned the conviction and declared them not guilty.
