IHC refers judge’s ‘controversial’ Facebook posts to FIA

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday referred the ‘controversial’ Facebook posts of a judge hearing the Toshakhana case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), while a lower court granted PTI chief Imran Khan a one-time exemption from attendance in the Toshakhana criminal case.

The IHC chief justice was hearing petitions filed by Mr Khan, seeking the transfer of his case from the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar to another court.

The trial of Mr Khan is at the final stage, as the court has already summoned him to record his statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, under which the judge can put a question to an accused person before concluding trial proceedings.

Mr Khan was seeking multiple reliefs in the Toshakhana case, from the transfer of the case to the summoning of record from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and also questioned the maintainability of the complaint filed against him by the ECP for concealing details of state gifts in his assets declarations.

Dismisses transfer of bail petitions in May 9 cases; lower court grants one-time exemption to PTI chief

Justice Farooq noted that the PTI chairman’s petition against the maintainability of the complaint in fact is “the second round of litigation on inter alia subject of limitation and authority of person filing complaint on behalf of the Election Commission of Pakistan, as earlier, this Court [IHC] had… referred to learned trial court for decision afresh.”