Concise ruling :
While permitting Khan’s intra-court appeal, the division bench declared the law ministry’s notification as “without lawful authority and having no legal effect.”
In a three-page concise order, the IHC mentioned that a jail trial might be conducted in “exceptional circumstances.” The court highlighted that such a trial should adhere to the requisites of an open trial or a trial in camera as prescribed by law, under specific circumstances conducive to justice.
Regarding the November 15 notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, approved by the caretaker cabinet for the jail trial, the court emphasized that it could not be applied retrospectively. Additionally, the court invalidated all notifications related to the jail trial due to procedural irregularities and failure to meet legal requirements.
The IHC also addressed the legality of the special court judge’s designation, affirming its validity: “The designation of the Special Court (Anti-Terrorism-I) Islamabad, to handle cases reported under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 through notification (F.No.40(64)/2023-A-VIII) dated 27.06.2023 issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice is valid and lawful.”
The Ministry of Law had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) on August 29 for the jail trial of the former prime minister, following requests from the Interior Ministry and Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain.
On November 14, the high court suspended Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case after the caretaker federal cabinet endorsed the trial of Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi in this matter.
Previously, Khan, ousted from office after a no-confidence motion in April the previous year, had appealed against the jail trial. However, the court’s single bench rejected his plea on October 16.
Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, on the single-member bench, ruled that there was no apparent malice behind conducting Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case. The court advised Khan to approach the trial court if concerns persisted, following which Khan filed an intra-court appeal against the single bench’s decision.
In August of the same year, Khan and Qureshi faced charges under the Official Secrets Act 1923 in the cipher case, initiated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) invoking Section 5 of the said law.
Reportedly, a diplomatic cable went missing from Imran’s possession, purportedly containing a threat from the United States to topple the PTI’s government, as claimed by the former ruling party.
