ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the decision on the appeal in the “marriage during Iddat” case within a month and the Session Court to decide on the request for suspension of the sentence within 10 days.
Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court heard the petitions of PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the “marriage during Iddat” case.
The court ordered the Session Court to decide on Bushra Bibi’s request for suspension of the sentence within 10 days.
During the hearing, lawyer Salman Akram Raja argued that in his career, he had never seen a judge transfer a case so suddenly. The Session Judge had heard the case, but now it had been transferred to an Additional Session Judge. He questioned why the case was transferred to an Additional Session Judge.
Salman Akram Raja further argued that their primary request was for Session Judge Shah Rukh Arjumand to be directed to announce the reserved decision.
Alternatively, the High Court itself should hear the appeal and make a decision.
The third option was to transfer the appeal to the Session Judge West. He requested the court to set a timeframe for the Session Court to decide on the appeal. He emphasized that the trial took two days, and the appeals should be heard in a similar expedited manner.
Khawar Maneka’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi argued that Khawar Maneka had objected to the judge, but the court dismissed the request.
When Khawar Maneka raised the objection again, the Session Judge referred the matter to the High Court.
The High Court, on the administrative side, sent the appeals to the Additional Session Judge West. This administrative order of the court could not be challenged directly or indirectly.
Khawar Maneka’s lawyer opposed the transfer of the appeal from the Additional Session Judge to the Session Judge.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court ordered the decision on the appeal in the “marriage during Iddat” case within a month and the Session Court to decide on the request for suspension of the sentence within 10 days.
Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb directed that Additional Session Judge Afzal Majoka should decide on both requests within the stipulated time set by the court.
It may be mentioned here that the PTI founder had requested the Session Judge to be directed to announce the reserved decision, and in the alternative, for the High Court to hear the appeal itself.
Bushra Bibi had requested the Session Court to hear and decide on her pending request for suspension of the sentence.
