Imran moves SC against IHC judgment in cipher case

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has challenged in the apex court the judgment of Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejecting his petition against proceedings and indictment in the cipher case. The PTI chairman filed an appeal in the apex court under Article 185(3) of the Constitution through his counsel Sardar Latif Khosa, making the Federation of Pakistan through the Ministry of Interior, FIA and Investigating Officer (IO) as respondents.

The IHC on October 27 rejected the petition of PTI chairman against the proceedings and indictment in the cipher case by a special court, with an order that Imran Khan be provided a fair trial.

In his appeal in the Supreme Court, Imran Khan questioned as to whether allegations against him that he has tampered a document namely Cipher and by twisting the facts presented the same before public at large to achieve his political goals is not enough to establish that the alleged document on the basis of which the FIR has been registered was in fact neither leaked nor presented at any prohibited place of unauthorised person, thereby, making the case against him of no evidence, which is sufficient ground to quash the proceedings culminating out of the crime report.

“Whether the justification rendered by the learned high court with regard to the immunity enshrined in Article 248 of the Constitution is at all in accordance with the pronouncement of this august court on the subject and, if not, the same be sustained on the touchstone of mere assumption or presumption,” Khan further questioned.

The PTI chairman submitted that the high court had erred in law while observing that since the report under Section 173 CrPC has been filed, therefore, he has an alternate remedy provided under Section 249(a) CrPC when his main emphasis was that the FIA or the court established under the said act has no jurisdiction but the said constitutional interpretation required from the high court made an escape from the consideration, making the order impugned to be a result of misreading and non-reading of the material available on the surface of record.

“The findings, as given by the high court that FIR cannot be quashed on the prayer of one of several accused of the case, is not in line with articles 2,3, 4, 9 and 10-A and 14 and the very preamble of the Constitution,” Imran Khan contended.

He further submitted that the registration of FIR by abusing the authority and official powers is in violation of the principles of separation of powers, independence of judiciary, rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.

The PTI chairman contended that he has been subjected to politically motivated malicious persecution in violation of his fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, hence while securing the fundamental rights, the approach should have been dynamic, progressive and liberal keeping in view ideals of the people, socioeconomic and politico-cultural values which in Pakistan are enshrined in the Objective Resolution so as to extend the benefit of the same to maximum possible. However, the same has been illegally withheld by the learned single judge of the high court. Imran Khan prayed to the apex court that leave to appeal against the impugned judgment dated October 27 passed by the Islamabad High Court may be granted and in the consequence whereof the same may be allowed in the interest of justice and the crime case to his extent may be quashed.